169: Chapter 169 Green Snake is questioned by the Demon Lord

"amitabha."

Dharma Affinity chanted the Buddhist invocation and took a long, steady breath, his complexion finally improving significantly.

"Keep this bodhi fruit pit safe."

Dharma Affinity handed the wrinkled, furrowed bodhi fruit pit to Xu Qing.

Xu Qing extended both hands and carefully accepted it.

The monks of Bodhi Temple all followed a tradition: they would plant their own personal Bodhi Dharma Tree.

A Bodhi Dharma Tree offered immense benefits for practicing Buddhist Dharma.

"Plant it where you reside; it can help you suppress the demonic resentment."

"Remember, you must not be tainted by demonic resentment again, nor should you use it."

"Once the mark breaks through the suppression of the Buddhist Dharma, it will truly be beyond cure, and you will completely descend into a demonic state."

"amitabha."

Dharma Affinity did not forget to remind Xu Qing.

Xu Qing looked at the golden Buddhist ring pattern on his right shoulder and nodded.

He naturally cherished his own little life more than anyone else did.

In future fights, Xu Qing could clutch his arm and say those chuunibyou lines.

"Argh! Stop the killing!"

"If the slaughter continues, the Demon Seal sealed within my right arm will erupt!"

"Damn it, stay suppressed!"

Just thinking about it actually made his blood boil a little with excitement.

Cough, cough, stay calm.

This Snake would never recite such shameless lines.

Dharma Affinity looked at the excited Xu Qing with a bit of incomprehension.

He could only sigh with emotion.

Was the generation gap between the new generation of Cultivators and old men like them really this large?

"In that case, we shall take our leave."

The purpose of this visit to Bodhi Temple had been achieved. Daya stood up and bowed to Dharma Affinity to say goodbye.

"Eh?"

"Why not stay a while longer and have dinner before you go?"

"I haven't finished telling you... on that night a thousand years ago, this poor monk heard a strange movement, got up and ran into my master, and was then dragged into the Buddha Hall to kneel as punishment. What exactly was that strange shadow I saw?"

Hearing this, whether it was Daya, Xu Qing, or Elder Li—who had been lurking like a bystander the whole time—their hearts all shuddered.

If they continued chatting with this monk, winter would probably arrive.

"Cough, cough. This Elder's Xuanji Sect still has important matters to attend to."

Daya bowed in apology.

Xu Qing and Elder Li also hurriedly expressed that they had things to do.

"Sigh..."

"What a waste of this table of vegetarian food."

"Busy, everyone is busy. It's good to be busy."

"Cough, cough! Cough, cough!"

Dharma Affinity leaned on his zen staff, turned around tremulously, and let out a long sigh.

As he turned, he kept stealing glances at Xu Qing and the others.

Seeing no reaction, he began to cough heavily again.

"amitabha, the temple is desolate and cold."

"No one asks after this old monk!"

This monk was completely possessed by his inner drama queen.

One had to know that basically all the monks in the entire temple were immune to his long-winded speeches.

It was rare to have a few interesting fellows he could talk to.

It would be a pity to let them go back.

"We shall take our leave."

Daya led Xu Qing and the others away, no longer staying.

Dharma Affinity also stopped acting and coughing, looking up at the direction where the flying boat was departing.

"Fate is truly beyond words."

Dharma Affinity turned and walked into the courtyard.

"Sister Bai."

"Did this poor monk do well? Was the karmic affinity I bestowed good?"

Dharma Affinity bowed toward the bodhi tree he had planted in the Buddhist courtyard.

A white figure stepped out from behind the bodhi tree. With white horns, a white tail, and a white dress, it was indeed the White Flood Dragon.

"A pebble thrown into the upper reaches of the river of time can only be seen as a ripple or a giant wave once it reaches the lower reaches," Madam Bai said.

"Sister Bai's words make sense," Dharma Affinity responded.

"Sister Bai, when you saved me a thousand years ago, had you already foreseen today?"

Hearing Dharma Affinity say this,

The White Flood Dragon's beautiful large eyes looked toward Dharma Affinity.

"I just saved you in passing; I didn't think that far ahead."

"But for a monk I saved on a whim to become one of the world's nine Soul Transformation experts was indeed unexpected."

"As long as Sister Bai is satisfied."

"This poor monk prefers to believe in cause and effect. All living beings in the world have their own destiny and fate."

"Sister Bai saved this poor monk and allowed me to live until now. In the dark, there must be a purpose for me."

Dharma Affinity pressed his palms together, lowered his eyes, and spoke.

"...Perhaps."

The White Flood Dragon gave a response, then turned and vanished.

Dharma Affinity bowed toward the direction where the White Flood Dragon had left.

...

Xu Qing was currently studying the Buddhist scripture in his hand.

The Bodhi Sutra.

The scripture was obscure and difficult to understand, but it could no longer stump Xu Qing, who had read countless texts.

Having access to the libraries of both the Xuanji Sect and the Xuanyun Sect, Xu Qing had seen innumerable Cultivation Techniques and Secret Manuals.

Among them, there was no shortage of obscure and difficult techniques.

"I see."

Xu Qing held the Bodhi Sutra and slowly circulated the Buddhist Light within his body.

[Ding! Proficiency has met the requirements.]

[Auspicious Beast lv3 has been upgraded to Auspicious Beast lv4.]

Xu Qing almost burst into tears.

How long, how long had it been?

His Auspicious Beast Rank had finally increased.

In the future, when he went out and released both Buddhist Light and the light of an Auspicious Beast together, let's see who would dare call him a Vicious Beast.

The simple and kind Auspicious Beast Green Snake was officially back online.

"amitabha, this treasure has a karmic affinity with this poor monk."

In the future, Xu Qing could release Buddhist Light and then say this sentence as a matter of course.

Robbery was something only bandits did.

Educated people knew that treasures weren't taken by force.

Instead, they were obtained through deception and exploitation.

That was an Advanced method of robbery that was more efficient and more reasonable than mere stealing.

"Hehe, the Demon Lord wouldn't have expected this, right?"

"This Snake is now also practicing Buddhism."

Xu Qing decided that once he returned to the River God Temple, he wouldn't go anywhere until after his evolution.

He would slowly accumulate evolution points through his own cultivation.

Relying on green snake wine and the Medicinal Pills provided by the Xuanji Sect and Xuanyun Sect, Xu Qing's cultivation speed could only be described as astonishing.

Furthermore, Xu Qing was technically a Heaven-Made dao root, a Genius whose talent surpassed the entire Cultivation World.

And this Genius...

...was now facing a mirror.

"Ah, the demonic resentment sealed in my right arm is about to break the Seal!"

"The Demon Lord sealed in my body is about to take over!"

"Get back, it's dangerous!"

"Oh, the dark side of my heart!"

Well, the Green Snake was indeed a chuunibyou as well.

"Hahaha, I, the Demon Lord, have finally broken the Seal to see the light of day again!"

"I shall destroy the world! First..."

"First, I'll make everyone in the entire world my slaves and have them catch Frogs for me for all eternity! Jie jie jie!"

Green Snake hands-on-hips.jpg.

He had an expression of being incredibly badass.

With a wobble of his legs, Xu Qing felt the world spinning; the ground beneath his feet had vanished.

In its place was a giant mountain of white bones and a boundless sea of blood.

Above the blood sea, the Demon Lord sat upon a throne, just watching Xu Qing.

There was a long silence.

"Are you... mentally ill?"

Xu Qing was being questioned.