Chapter 9: The Monk and the Confucian Scholar

“That person is Monk Fubao of the Golden Buddha Temple!”

“It is said that he has already passed the See the Truth Barrier and become a True Qi expert! I didn’t expect him to come to the Three Talents Manor as well!”

“Hah~ He must be here to broaden his horizons or establish a branch temple! As for martial arts, their Golden Buddha Temple has its own inheritance!”

“Ah~ I really want to join the Golden Buddha Temple and obtain a lineage!”

“What’s your worth? How can you join the Golden Buddha Temple without a hundred taels of gold? It is said that in the Golden Buddha Temple, you need gold to learn every martial art!”

“Shh… Be careful. Monk Fubao is looking over here!”

As the smoking monk walked by, Shi Feizhe heard the whispers of the people around him. Only then did he realize that this monk was actually quite famous, a monk from the Golden Buddha Temple.

Monk Fubao only glanced briefly at the manuals below the See the Truth Barrier level, but he would stop and carefully examine the manuals above the Transcendence Realm level.

Shi Feizhe glanced at them twice and then busied himself with his own affairs.

He found a martial arts manual called 《Dark Spring Divine Shadow Record》. It was a manual that allowed one to visualize deities of the underworld while training their Qi and Blood, ultimately perfecting both, cultivating True Qi, and directly aiming for the Transcendence Realm!

The stone tablet not only contained the training methods for the Blood and Qi Barrier, but also a set of “Forest of Souls Palm” techniques for self-defense. The deities that needed to be visualized for the Essence and Spirit Barrier were also depicted on the stone tablet. There were ten of them, precisely the Ten Kings of Hell.

The only pity was that Shi Feizhe could only understand about thirty to forty percent of this manual, even with guessing. The methods for training Qi and Blood in the manual also required many precious medicinal herbs and a large amount of food, which gave Shi Feizhe a headache!

But in any case, this set of martial arts manuals was exactly what Shi Feizhe needed. Compared to other manuals, this one was already very good in terms of its concept, completeness, and entry difficulty.

He would first write down the parts he didn’t understand and then slowly study them when he went back or often come here to discuss them with others. He would also think of ways to obtain the precious medicinal herbs and a large amount of food!

He still held the same belief: a living person can’t be choked to death by urine!

So, Shi Feizhe squatted there with a charcoal stick in hand, slowly copying the text. Although he wasn’t used to using a charcoal stick, it was better than being used to using a brush. His handwriting was ugly, but as long as he could understand it, it was fine.

He copied from morning until afternoon, and he had almost finished copying the text. However, the portraits of the deities for visualization were drawn much slower and uglier.

There was no helping it, he had never learned to draw. And the Three Talents Manor didn’t allow rubbings!

For example, “King Qinguang,” who governed life and death in the human world and fortune and misfortune in the underworld, originally had a very dignified appearance. But in Shi Feizhe’s drawing, his nose and eyes were crooked, as if he was looking at people sideways.

“Uh… should it be okay to draw like this?” Shi Feizhe looked at his drawing and scratched his face, ending up with a face covered in charcoal dust.

“According to the visualization method, one visualizes the appearance of the deity in their mind, imagining themselves as this deity. It’s a method of cultivating the true through the false. I’m just simply jotting down the deity’s appearance to prevent forgetting it. When I visualize, I’ll use the visualization of the memory. There shouldn’t be any problem!”

Shi Feizhe pondered for a moment and felt that there shouldn’t be a big problem. After all, he might have to draw it several more times to deepen his impression.

He considered the first round of deity portraits as drafts.

Just as the sun was about to set and Shi Feizhe had almost finished drawing （really almost finished）, he heard a voice full of vigor.

“Baldy from the Golden Buddha Temple, smoking here again, completely disregarding other people’s feelings!”

✿✿✿

There were people coming and going in the Stele Forest, all kinds of people, but they were all whispering, not daring to speak loudly. This was the first time Shi Feizhe had encountered someone speaking with such a loud voice today.

The speaker was a strong man wearing a light blue Confucian robe and a Confucian headscarf, almost two meters tall, with muscles bulging all over his body, stretching the robe.

“Bu Cunren! This is Wisdom Herb! It can refresh the mind and develop wisdom. It can even allow us to enter the Alaya Consciousness, walk in the Buddha Land, and perfectly comprehend the Buddhist Dharma! How can you, a muscular barbarian from the Confucian school, understand?” Monk Fubao said in a gentle and soft voice.

Huh? Smoking can have this effect?

What’s this about entering the Alaya Consciousness, walking in the Buddha Land, and perfectly comprehending the Buddhist Dharma?

Shi Feizhe was stunned. Could it be that the tobacco in this world was different from the one in his previous life?

“Heh~ Who doesn’t know that your Buddhist sect is full of smokers, every one of you smoking until your teeth are yellow, and you still call them gold teeth!” Bu Cunren couldn’t help but sneer when he heard Monk Fubao’s answer.

Their Destiny Academy wanted to open a branch in Qiuyang City. The negotiations were almost finalized, but then the monks from the Golden Buddha Temple suddenly intervened. City Lord Lan of Qiuyang City suddenly raised the price and became indecisive, which really made things difficult for them.

Today, they came to the Three Talents Manor as guests and unexpectedly ran into this baldy from the Golden Buddha Temple, so how could he not mock him a few times?

“Amitabha Buddha! A monk does not lie, and he should also cultivate his speech! Bu Cunren, if you want to pick a fight, this poor monk will gladly oblige you with my fists and feet!” Monk Fubao glanced at Bu Cunren and said with a cold smile.

“Heh… Baldy, who’s afraid of you?” A five-colored aura emerged from Bu Cunren’s body as he said, “I’m a guest at the Three Talents Manor today. It’s quite rude to fight here! Come on! I’ll wait for you on the lake!”

With that, he leaped gently, soaring towards the lake beside the Three Talents Manor like a large bird.

“Heh… The Five Virtues of Heaven and Man? This poor monk will gladly accompany you!” A faint golden light emanated from Monk Fubao’s body, making him look otherworldly, and he also flew towards the lake.

Two True Qi experts were about to fight on the spot! This instantly ignited the passion of the martial artists studying manuals at the Three Talents Manor!

Between choosing to read manuals and watch people fight, they naturally chose to watch people fight! Especially two True Qi experts!

The manuals on the stone tablets wouldn’t run away, but it wasn’t every day that you could see True Qi experts fight!

A group of people rushed towards the lakeside. Shi Feizhe, with his thin arms and legs, couldn’t outrun them and could only follow far behind. Then, he saw a five-colored True Qi transforming into a giant sword on the lake in the distance, slashing towards a golden object!

Looking at the amount of True Qi they had, and then looking at the few wisps of True Qi in his own dantian, Shi Feizhe felt the difference between a human and a dog!

He had no idea that both of them were experts at the Qi Sea Barrier level of the Transcendence Realm, with their True Qi surging throughout their bodies, flowing through their Eight Extraordinary Meridians like a vast ocean. The next step was to refine all 360 acupoints in their bodies, allowing their True Essence to circulate through the meridians and acupoints, forming a Grand Celestial Cycle!

This was another level of the Transcendence Realm, the Celestial Cycle!

Seeing the five-colored giant sword slashing towards him, Monk Fubao’s body glowed with a brilliant golden light, forming a Buddha Dharma Image. It was Amitabha Buddha, also known as Amitayus Buddha!

Monk Fubao raised his right hand, forming a hand seal like a pair of scissors, blocking Bu Cunren’s sword strike.

“You baldies are all turtles!” Bu Cunren wasn’t surprised that his sword strike didn’t work.

Their Destiny Academy believed that everyone’s arrival in this world was arranged by heaven, and everyone had their own destiny! The Confucian scholars of their Destiny Academy naturally had to educate all beings and fulfill their own destinies!

In these chaotic times, it was time to set things right, find a wise ruler, inherit the Mandate of Heaven, and establish a new dynasty!

Therefore, his palm strike was “Five Virtues Reincarnation!”

Monk: Wisdom Herb is good, staying up late chanting scriptures, boundless Dharma power!