[Muscular Tang Sanzang]: "@Jiangliu, for the next few days, you must first temper your body with the Buddha-Tormenting Lotus Seed. Once the tempering is complete, you may join this humble monk on the invincible path of Buddha-Tormenting."
[Altar Purifier]: "Master, why do I always feel... you might not be entirely reliable?"
[Altar Purifier]: "Why not let the young master learn from me? My Thirty-Six Heavenly Transformations are incredibly powerful!"
[Muscular Tang Sanzang]: "Hmph! Such paths obsessed with mystical arts and spiritual tools are nothing but heretical shortcuts—mere cumbersome distractions!"
[Muscular Tang Sanzang]: "To reign invincible in this world, one must rely solely on oneself. Only by forging one's flesh to perfection can true enlightenment be achieved."
[Yellow Brow Patriarch]: "...Are you truly Golden Cicada's reincarnation? You differ so greatly from the Golden Cicada I once knew."
[Jiangliu]: "@Muscular Tang Sanzang, Understood, Senior!"
[Jiangliu]: "Jiangliu bows in gratitude, Senior!"
The changes within himself felt vividly tangible to Jiangliu.
That lotus seed was undoubtedly a treasure rivaling immortal elixirs!
He realized his strength had grown significantly compared to before.
His senses of hearing and sight had also sharpened.
Come to think of it...
If Senior Tang Sanzang wasn't a villain, then Senior Yellow Brow—who appeared less than virtuous—probably wasn't truly malicious either? He merely seemed intimidating when spouting strange remarks in the group chat?
If so, perhaps he could secretly glance at the divine techniques Yellow Brow had shared in the group?
After all, it was Senior Yellow Brow's kind intention.
Wouldn't refusing to look disrespect his generosity?
Though Senior Tang Sanzang dismissed the techniques as lowly trash, that judgment applied only to him. For Jiangliu, even the "lowliest" techniques would be heaven-defying divine arts.
After much deliberation...
Jiangliu opened the "Great Vehicle Sutra of Sinful Enlightenment Through Killing."
After skimming a few pages, he hastily closed it.
Blushing furiously yet wide-eyed, he stammered, "Th-this... can this even be called a Buddhist scripture?!"
The text revolved entirely around "breaking precepts."
Killing, stealing, lust, false speech, alcohol, indulgence, sloth, and desire—these Eight Buddhist Precepts were precisely what the scripture demanded its practitioners violate.
It even detailed methods for breaking each precept, particularly the "lust" prohibition... complete with illustrations!
If Elder Faming saw this, he'd surely denounce it as heresy!
Yet... Senior Yellow Brow was the Bell-Striking Boy under Maitreya Buddha.
Wouldn't he understand Buddhism better than Elder Faming?
Or was this... what true Buddhism actually entailed?
...
At dawn the next day...
Jiangliu considered his exceptional memory—honed despite merely skimming Yellow Brow's scripture—to be his sole talent.
Throughout the night, the text's contents haunted his thoughts. Driven by curiosity, he'd reviewed the entire scripture, memorizing every word.
"If I oversleep... would that count as breaking the 'sloth precept'?"
Muttering to himself, Jiangliu hurriedly dressed and greeted the seniors in the Celestial Pilgrims group chat.
[Jiangliu]: "Good morning, Seniors!"
Then, slipping on straw sandals, he prepared for daily chores.
At Golden Mountain Temple, a bowl of gruel required labor.
Young and weak, he could only manage minor tasks—sweeping, fetching water, gathering firewood.
Today, he planned to collect kindling from the back mountain.
However...
The moment Jiangliu stepped forward, his legs buckled. Had he not grabbed a wall, he'd have faceplanted into dirt.
"Gurgle—" His stomach betrayed him with loud protests.
"Starving... this isn't right!" Staggering upright, he rubbed his sunken belly, puzzled. "Mornings were never this bad before. And I ate a full bowl yesterday! Is this a growth spurt... or linked to the Buddha-Tormenting Seed?"
The seed continued refining his body.
Jiangliu suspected the sudden hunger stemmed from it.
Gritting his teeth, he trudged to the temple kitchen.
Monks queued for morning porridge.
He remained the only one with hair.
"You!" A large hand yanked his collar from behind, nearly toppling him.
A young monk glared, teeth clenched. "Little bastard! You escaped yesterday, but not today! A mere touch made you tattle to Elder Faming, getting me scolded. Now I've caught you!"
Jiangliu turned—it was one of yesterday's tormentors.
Seeing the monk's rage, he sensed danger. Maybe submission would work: "Senior—"
The monk cut him off.
"Being called 'senior' by a fatherless, motherless bastard like you would curse my karma!" The monk sneered. "Brave enough to snitch, yet too cowardly to meet my eyes?"
The words "father" and "mother" struck Jiangliu's rawest nerve. All thoughts of submission evaporated.
He slapped the hand away.
Locking eyes, he spoke with unprecedented intensity: "I have parents! My father's surname was Chen! My mother's was Yin! I'm no bastard!"
The monk winced at the stinging slap.
How could this runt possess such strength?
Noticing other monks watching, the monk's face flushed with humiliation. "Liar! You claim parents, so where are they? I say you're a whore's spawn! Maybe I'm right!"
"Instead of Jiangliu, you should be called—"
The insult died as a rock hurled by Jiangliu smashed into his face, spraying blood and teeth.
Jiangliu knew why he did this.
He could endure mockery, insults, slander...
But defiling his parents' honor?
Never.
"AAAAH!!!" The monk's screams erupted. Through bloody vision, he saw Jiangliu pick up the bloodied rock again.
"Wait—AAAAAH!!!"
Jiangliu smashed the rock into the monk's knee, forcing him to kneel with a howl.
Another blow cracked the monk's skull, dropping him unconscious.
"Don't insult my father!" Jiangliu struck again, dizzy with hunger yet relentless.
"Don't insult my mother!"
Only then did bystanders react in panic.
"Jiangliu! Stop! You'll kill him!"
"Cease this!"
"Somebody restrain him!"
...
