131: Cultivate good causes, attain Buddhahood

Xu Le was about to order Little Black Snake to pursue when he suddenly sensed it was in intense pain, and its health bar was slowly decreasing.

He instantly realized the Orangutan it had swallowed was causing trouble, so he changed his command, "Void Blade!"

Little Black Snake opened its mouth, and an invisible spatial ripple surged, silently appearing before the Octopus.

At this moment, the Octopus was covered in Buddha light, its eyes filled with compassion. Its two tentacles tapped the air, and with three crisp "crack" sounds, the Void Blade's attack dissipated into nothingness.

It could actually break a skill directly!!!

Seeing the strike fail, Xu Le did not pursue immediately.

Instead, he had Little Black Snake return to the Contract Space to enjoy the buff from Little Peach Tree's Spiritual Domain.

Then he called upon Nine Phoenix to unleash the "Raise Fire to Burn the Heavens" skill.

Fire clouds drifted and the air pressure changed drastically, but the Octopus still wore a compassionate expression, chanting a Buddhist mantra.

[The world is vast and boundless, nature and consciousness are unfixed; the Mortal World is empty, entangled in a hundred sufferings. Revolving through the five paths of the wheel, passing through the dust and kalpas...]

It was a strange tone he had never heard before, yet Xu Le understood its meaning.

Sensing trouble, he immediately cast "Void Banishment" with a thought.

The Octopus's figure froze, and the golden light of the Buddha appearing above its head flashed and vanished.

The Octopus's body went limp, and it looked at the scars on its tentacles with a dazed expression. As its memories returned, it didn't hesitate and fled directly toward the courtyard wall.

The Cockroach hiding nearby had suffered greatly; how could it be willing to let go?

It hurriedly flew out, turning into a black cloud to intercept.

Seeing this, the Octopus waved four tentacles, slicing the Cockroach into countless segments again, easily escaping into the wind outside.

Xu Le sighed but did not pursue. Instead, he summoned Little Black Snake and Little Peach Tree to tend to them personally.

Once things calmed down, Little Black Snake held its breath and coiled its body around the peach tree, keeping its stomach upside down to soak the Orangutan above its stomach with gastric acid.

The Orangutan was corroded by the gastric acid and screamed in pain, attacking Little Black Snake even more frantically.

Time slowly passed.

Xu Le occasionally cast the "Life Recovery" skill, waiting for Little Black Snake to slowly digest the Orangutan in its stomach.

After healing Little Black Snake more than ten times, he finally heard the wonderful notification sound.

[EXP +99,990,000]

Little Black Snake also breathed a sigh of relief. Although digesting the Orangutan could restore health, it was still a bit slower than the speed of the creature's attacks.

More importantly, it hurt!

Unfortunately, it was still a bit short of the experience needed to reach Rank 70.

This time, devouring the Orangutan didn't grant any skills. Xu Le estimated that he might need to devour its own kind to have a chance to learn the opponent's skills.

After resting for a while, Little Black Snake opened its mouth and spat out two glittering golden war hammers.

Xu Le: "..."

It was clearly a magic-type monster, so why did it drop two heavy hammers that even tanks might not be able to wield?

He scanned them with "Divine Eye."

The information for the twin hammers popped up.

[Weapon] Drum-beating Void-shattering Hammers

[Rank] Legendary

[Usage Requirements] Strength ≥ 15,000, Spirit ≥ 8,000

[Equipment Traits] Physical Attack +2,000, adds 30% blunt damage to each attack, includes skill "Charged Strike."

[Charged Strike] Consumes 1,200 Mana. The hammer can be thrown to strike the enemy's head, dealing Strength × 1.2 damage and stunning the opponent for one second.

The description of this weapon was as simple as its appearance, and the requirements to equip it were terrifyingly high. Fortunately, Xu Le just happened to meet them.

But... what kind of mage fights with twin hammers?

Not only did the attached skill ruin his image, but the damage was also dreadfully low. The only commendable thing was the one-second hard crowd control.

"Forget it, whoever wants to use this trash equipment can have it. I'm definitely not using it."

Xu Le put the twin hammers away, silently sentencing them to life imprisonment, never to see the light of day again.

The Cockroach crawled out from a corner, its antennae twitching as it suggested they hunt down the Octopus together.

Clearly, the previous battle had exhausted it; it was completely countered by the opponent, making it afraid to pursue alone.

Xu Le looked at the Cockroach with doubt. Before entering the temple, the two of them were mortal enemies, and it had almost been killed by him.

The Cockroach waved its antennae and gestured with its legs. Xu Le watched for a long time and understood it was roughly saying the most dangerous one here was the Octopus, who was the master of this place and was currently spying on them nearby.

Xu Le summoned Little Dog. He had secretly had it leave a mark on the opponent earlier. Sure enough, the mark was right there in the courtyard.

Following Little Dog's guidance, Xu Le soon saw the Octopus sitting cross-legged and resting in a corner.

"Wouldn't it be better if we minded our own business? Why must you press me so hard?"

Xu Le: "..."

Octopus: "..."

He was truly at a loss for words. The Octopus and they didn't share a language, and communication had always relied on gestures.

Yet the voice just now was unfamiliar and the tone was strange, but they understood it. The only thing capable of this seemed to be that golden Buddha.

Seeing their reaction, the Octopus knew it had been exposed.

Xu Le asked directly, "Who exactly are you?"

The Octopus chanted a Buddhist mantra: "namo amitabha buddha! Adhering to the truth for billions of lifetimes, cultivating good causes, I am called 'Such'; my soul remains indestructible through billions of kalpas, attaining Buddhahood, I am called 'Existence'. This old monk is Such Existence. Greetings, benefactors."

Xu Le was surprised. "Isn't this just you Possession Brother Octopus? Does this count as cultivating good causes?"

Such Existence smiled slightly, his face full of compassion. "The Physical Body is but a nest for insects, inhabited by eighty-four thousand bugs. It is a collection of filth. This old monk practices meditation to eliminate the impurities. Why does that not count as cultivating good causes?"

Xu Le was speechless; he had never expected Buddhist scriptures could be interpreted this way.

He thought of a joke he had once seen: a patient had a skin disease on his right hand that kept recurring and wouldn't heal. The doctor waved his hand and simply sawed off the hand, easily curing the disease.

Seeing Xu Le lost in thought, Such Existence did not launch a sneak attack but watched with interest.

Seeing that the other party didn't fall for it, Xu Le wasn't disappointed and continued to chat aimlessly.

"Since the insect nest is so filthy, Great Master should abandon it quickly to avoid tainting your Buddhist body."

Such Existence pressed two tentacles together, his face solemn. "If I do not enter Hell, who will? Benefactor, why don't you also cast aside your precious body and let this old monk purify you?"

Before he finished speaking, he had already activated his Buddha Power. Golden magic power pierced through heaven and earth, magnificent and grand.

Xu Le and the Cockroach were like a drop in the ocean, unable to even compare to the light of a firefly.

The Cockroach didn't hesitate; it abandoned Xu Le, turned into countless small cockroaches, and scattered to flee outside the wall.

Because it had been countered repeatedly before, it didn't even dare to attempt a basic probe now.

Such Existence smiled. "Why doesn't the benefactor flee?"

Xu Le curled his lip in disdain. With a wave of his staff, Little Black Snake appeared beneath his feet.

"If I needed to run, you would be the one coming to my door, rather than me coming here to corner you!"

Such Existence shook his head. "Your pet is somewhat interesting. If we had met for the first time, it might have given this old monk some trouble. But now? It's far from enough!"

As he spoke, Little Black Snake pounced, biting Such Existence, but its teeth hit nothing, and its body fell to the ground.

It was only an afterimage.

The real Such Existence had already teleported in front of Xu Le, extending a tentacle that radiated endless Buddha light, pressing it toward his forehead.