Fellow Daoist, your script is really good.

After one setback after another, your master became disheartened.

As time went by and his understanding of Buddhist principles deepened, your master gradually realized that Buddhist principles were simpler than pursuing Long Yueqing.

So, HC, now you know.

We speculate that if Chanxin fell into demonic possession, it might be partly due to Long Yueqing.

After all these years, we thought Chanxin had let go, but what if he hadn't?

What if, deep down, Chanxin harbors a lingering affection for Takiyuki?

And it was this lingering affection that drove your master to madness...

Moreover, in any case...

Raibinji Temple owes Takizumi a favor.

Perhaps we should still owe this favor to Benefactor Su.

……

……

[I'll be back on the 6th~ then I can resume normal updates~]

Chapter 508 My First Crush (4000 words)

After hearing Chan Lian's words, Huicong felt a headache coming on...

Even in Huicong's heart, the towering and majestic image of his master had begun to crumble somewhat.

Huicong never imagined that his master had once pursued a woman so intensely in his youth...

For Huicong, his master was a devout Buddhist, both in the past and now.

Especially when his master told him several times that "women are nothing but rouge and skulls," Huicong felt that his master was extremely insightful each time! His master truly lived up to his reputation!

But now...

When I think back to what Master said back then, why do I always feel that Master was being a bit of a sour grapes?

"Amitabha Buddha, perhaps this is karma."

Just as Huicong was feeling sentimental, on the other side, Chanyuan put his hands together and sighed.

"The reason why the abbot fell into demonic possession may be because during this retreat, his feelings for Taki Yueqing from back then were amplified by his inner demons."

The arrival of Takigaku Sei's disciple at Raiin-ji Temple may be the key to unlocking the abbot's inner demons.

In the grand scheme of things, everything was already preordained.

Therefore, let Benefactor Su go.

Chan Lian and the others nodded in response to Chan Yuan's words.

An hour later, Huicong brought a message to Su Li, indicating that Su Li could go to the place where the abbot was in seclusion.

However, Lei Yin Temple required Su Li to promise that if the abbot were to encounter any mishap, he would need to come out immediately.

Su Li naturally agreed.

To be honest, Su Li was quite surprised that he was able to enter the place where Lei Yin Temple presided over the retreat.

In Su Li's opinion, things shouldn't have gone so smoothly.

Su Li was prepared to continue her tug-of-war with Lei Yin Temple.

Su Li especially noticed the way Huicong was looking at her.

How to describe that look in his eyes?

It feels somewhat complicated.

The next morning, the masters of Raibinji Temple, including Chanren, arrived.

They chanted scriptures around Su Li.

These scriptures can enhance Suli's Buddha-nature.

The place where the abbot of Raiyin-ji Temple went into retreat is called Buddha's Retreat.

If one's Buddha-nature is insufficient, one cannot enter this state.

By noon, after a morning of cleansing, Su Li, feeling as if he had entered a state of sagehood, was led by Chan Lian and the others to the entrance of a cave.

Now, only two Buddhist lamps remain at the entrance of the cave.

Once the two Buddhist lamps are completely extinguished, it signifies that the abbot of Raiyin Temple has fallen into demonic possession.

"There is a hidden world inside the cave. Benefactor Su may go there on his own."

Please be extremely careful, Benefactor Su. If the abbot shows any signs of distress, please come out immediately to avoid any unforeseen danger.

Chanlian reminded him again.

Putting aside the fact that Benefactor Su is Huijiang's (Fang Jiang's) friend and helped Huijiang resolve her inner conflict, if something really happens at Leiyin Temple, I will need Benefactor Su to tell Huijiang about Leiyin Temple.

Just the fact that Benefactor Su is Long Yueqing's disciple means that if something were to happen to Benefactor Su, Lei Yin Temple would be in serious trouble, if not disaster...

Su Li nodded seriously: "Please rest assured, masters, I know what I'm doing."

"In that case, please, Benefactor Su!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Chan Lian and the other masters, Chan Min and others, waved their hands, and beams of Buddhist light struck the cave entrance.

The space at the cave entrance gradually distorted, and the golden Buddha light was continuously swallowed up.

The moment the twisted opening of the cave stabilized, Su Li comforted Qian Yun, then bowed to the elders of Lei Yin Temple before entering the cave.

The golden light dissipated, and the cave's distortion returned to normal.

Upon entering the cave, Su Li's consciousness became momentarily disoriented.

When Su Li opened her eyes again, she found herself standing beneath the city gate.

This is not an illusion, but something that really exists!

It's a hidden paradise.

This is a little secret place.

However, this little secret realm is not very big.

Su Li used his divine sense to probe the area, and it was approximately 30,000 square kilometers.

Look around.

This is a sea of ​​flowers.

A sea of ​​red spider lilies.

However, the fragrance of flowers was mixed with a slight smell of blood.

Legend has it that the red spider lily blooms on corpses and blood.

The more vibrant the red spider lily, the more people die, and the thicker the blood becomes.

The red spider lilies here are as red as fire.

Su Li looked up and saw the words "Mingdu".

Su Li was certain that she had never been to this place before.

But for some reason, Su Li felt an extreme sense of familiarity in her heart.

Pushing open the city gate, Su Li walked in.

Beyond the city gate lies an ancient street.

There was no one in the city. Everything in the city was abandoned. Moss grew on the stone houses, and small grasses sprouted from the cracks in the bricks of the streets.

The entire abandoned city looks like an ancient ruin.

Su Li continued walking forward.

Finally, they arrived at a royal palace.

Beneath the palace walls, a monk sat cross-legged.

The monk closed his eyes and remained motionless, like a statue.

Su Li used the system to open the script on the other person's head:

【Chanxin (Golden Script): Late stage of Ascension Realm, one of the few people in the Ascension Realm today. In his youth, he was hailed as a figure rarely seen in five thousand years of Buddhism and Taoism. The Buddhist world believes that Chanxin will carry forward Buddhism and bring it to a new golden age.

Having experienced the Demon Tribulation, it was during this time that Chanxin met Long Yueqing.

After that incident, that red dress remained an indelible image in Chanxin's mind.

He had pursued Takizumi several times.

But for Long Yueqing, no one even remembered his name.

It was the abbot of Raiyuuji Temple who asked Takigaku to do Raiyuuji a favor in exchange for Takigaku to beat up Shojin so that he would give up on him completely.

Takigaku agreed and proceeded to beat Chanshin in front of everyone at the Rai-in Temple.

Chanxin lost all face in front of her beloved, resulting in social death.

However, Chanxin did not give up hope.

Chanxin was focused on cultivating himself, defeating Longyueqing, and then entering her heart.

But as it turns out, Chanxin was indeed overthinking things.

In the time that followed, Chanxin discovered that no matter how much he cultivated, he could not catch up with Long Yueqing's pace.

In the end, Chanxin had to admit that he might never be able to surpass Long Yueqing...

Chanxin gradually began to let go of Takigaku Qing and focused on studying Buddhism.

Tens of thousands of years later, that feeling from back then has faded.

Just like the school goddess you secretly admired during your student days, when you look back, you can only smile slightly and sigh about your youth.

In Chanxin's heart, what remains of Long Yueqing is perhaps only a recollection of her youth. As for love, much of it has indeed faded with the passage of time.

When the great era arrives, he gains some insight into his own Dao and enters the royal city of the Ghost Clan—"Mingdu"—to seek enlightenment.

In fact, the spiritual energy is most abundant in the Imperial Palace of Mingdu, and it also contains the remnants of the mountain and river fortune of the Ghost Clan.

However, Chanxin did not enter the capital city to attain enlightenment.

In fact, Raibi-ji Temple originated from the Oni clan.

The previous hosts all held the human-ghost race in high regard and did not go to the human-ghost race's palace, feeling that their unauthorized intrusion would be disrespectful to the human-ghost race.

Outside the palace, under that Bodhi tree, he sought enlightenment, but gradually became confused.

Ultimately, Chanxin became a demon in a single thought and slaughtered all the monks of Leiyin Temple.

Despite the monks of Leiyin Temple attempting to stop him with their blood, Chanxin died from exhaustion, his progress halted at the late stage of the Ascension Realm.

Raiyuu Temple was also reduced to rubble after this battle; its small secret realm was destroyed, and the Oni clan's royal palace was completely wiped out.

After reading the old monk's script, Su Li couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

My respect for Raibinji Temple has reached a new level.

Putting aside everything else, since ancient times, out of gratitude to the long-deceased Oni clan, the abbots of each generation have never set foot in the imperial city.

This is enough to demonstrate the cultivation of the monks of Raiyuji Temple.

Righteousness endures through the ages.

Leiyin Temple became the largest Buddhist temple in the Western Regions, deeply loved by the people and monks, and has never had a single stain on its reputation. This is not without reason.

He sat down cross-legged in front of the old monk.

Su Li looked left and right.

Although Su Li really wanted to save the abbot, she was already feeling confused.

Su Li thought that she might be able to use the system to read his script, find out the root of his inner conflict, and then find a way to address it.

However, to my surprise, the script simply summarized it with the phrase "but I feel confused."