147: A logical genius and a Buddhist practitioner who abstains from pornography! No heart = no distractions? Su Chen: I've learned something.

Ten Thousand Demon City, Ghost Soul Night Market.

Unlike the bloody chaos of Ten Thousand Demon City during the day, this place held a bizarre and grotesque prosperity.

Lamps made from various biological skulls lined both sides of the street. Multicolored soul fires burned within their eye sockets, casting flickering light across the long street.

The air was filled with the aroma of roasted meat, the spiciness of exotic spices, and... a faint scent of blood.

Su Chen and his two companions disguised themselves as ordinary demonic cultivators, blending into the oddly shaped Devil Heads like three drops of water into the ocean.

“Amitabha! This benefactor, I see that your skeletal structure is extraordinary and your whole body is like jade; you are certainly destined to be with my Buddha!”

Not far away, a comical figure caught Su Chen's attention.

A handsome young monk, wearing an ill-fitting black robe with rivets and two downward-pointing angry eyebrows drawn with soot, was stopping a jade-white skeleton that moved freely. His hands were pressed together in prayer, his face full of piety.

The skeleton wore a cloak made of countless tiny finger bones. Its soul fire was ghostly blue, making it appear eerie and aloof.

It was none other than the Buddha Son of the Ten Thousand Buddhas Holy Land, Monk Jiese, and the White Bone Daoist, Shi Qiangu.

[Good heavens! This monk is a real talent! Running to the headquarters of the Demonic Path to recruit people, and even directly targeting a skeleton? He's truly not afraid of being taken apart and used as prayer beads!]

Su Chen watched with great interest.

Shi Qiangu's soul fire flickered, seemingly processing this sudden information. His jade-white jawbone clicked open and shut, producing a creaking, laconic sound: “No time.”

After speaking, he tried to bypass the strange monk.

Unexpectedly, Monk Jiese slid over and blocked him again, the piety on his face increasing by three points.

“Benefactor, do not be in a hurry! When fate arrives, there is no escaping it! This poor monk's Dharma name is Monk Jiese. I see that your root bone is excellent; you are a one-in-a-million Buddhist genius!”

Shi Qiangu stopped in his tracks, his ghostly blue soul fire staring fixedly at Monk Jiese. A jade-white finger bone rose to tap his empty chest cavity. His jawbone opened and shut again, his voice dry: “Heart, none.”

“No heart is wonderful!” Monk Jiese's eyes instantly lit up, as if he had discovered a new continent.

“No heart means no distractions, and only without distractions can one see the true nature! Benefactor, you have the innate potential of an Arhat!”

[Holy crap, he can even spin it that way? No heart equals no distractions? This monk's sales pitch has surpassed the heavens. Should those theory-obsessed folks at Jixia Academy come here for some advanced training?]

Su Chen nearly choked on his own saliva.

Seeing the other party remain silent, Monk Jiese thought his words were working. He grew even more excited, circling Shi Qiangu twice while clicking his tongue in wonder.

“Look at these bones of yours—so white, so bright! If used to strike a wooden fish, the sound would surely be crisp and pleasant, making even the Buddha's heart bloom with joy! And look at this skull—full forehead, clear soul fire. It would be perfect to be enshrined as a Sarira!”

Shi Qiangu's soul fire began to flicker erratically.

He felt as if his soul fire was about to be nagged into extinction by this monk.

Not wanting to deal with this madman anymore, he turned and walked away, heading straight for a stall that was completely out of place with the surrounding bloody style.

The stall was covered in various lace trims and pink bows.

“Hmm?”

Su Chen's gaze was instantly drawn over.

[Lace? Bows? And even hair ties with sequins? Am I seeing this right? A skeleton radiating the aura of death is heading for a stall bursting with girlish sentiment?]

Shi Qiangu walked up to the stall, ignoring the succubus stall owner who was applying black lipstick in a small mirror. He reached out his jade-white skeletal claw and carefully pinched a pink ribbon.

Monk Jiese followed like a haunting spirit, still chattering away.

“Amitabha! Benefactor, pink skeletons are all vanity! What you hold is but a physical form; the truth lies within our Buddhist sect! Why not follow this poor monk...”

Shi Qiangu finally reached his limit.

He whipped his head around, his jade-white skull rotating a full 180 degrees, his cervical vertebrae making a tooth-aching “crack” sound.

The ghostly blue soul fire suddenly flared up, locking onto Monk Jiese.

“Noisy.”

That single word seemed to contain thousands of years of loneliness and irritability. A cold chill instantly swept over Monk Jiese.

The little monk shivered, but instead of backing down, his eyes beneath those comical downward-pointing eyebrows grew even brighter.

“Excellent, excellent! To think the benefactor has already grasped the true essence of ‘Stillness’ in Buddhism! It seems your destiny with our Buddha is even deeper than I imagined!”

[That works too? Thinking he's noisy equals grasping ‘Stillness’? This monk doesn't just have social prowess; he has logical self-consistency! Invincible!]

Su Chen nearly spat out the mouthful of demon spider leg he was eating.

Shi Qiangu completely gave up on communication. He grabbed the pink ribbon, dropped a Soul Crystal shimmering with ghostly light, and turned to leave. His skeletal frame moved at a speed like he was fleeing for his life, vanishing into the crowded stream of demons in the blink of an eye.

Monk Jiese watched his departing figure, pressed his hands together in gratification, and nodded.

“Though the benefactor has left, the seed of Buddhist destiny has been planted. Excellent, excellent.”

Having said that, he turned his head, his eyes shining as he began to search the crowd for the next “destined person”.

Su Chen felt his worldview being repeatedly refreshed and reshaped.

Just then, a familiar, rich aroma of meat mixed with the domineering scent of cumin accurately wafted into his nostrils.

Su Chen's eyes lit up, and he looked toward the source of the fragrance.

At a stall, an eight-armed demonic cultivator was using his six extra hands to skillfully flip and grill skewers of golden, spider-leg-shaped meat. They sizzled with oil, and the aroma was overflowing.

“Come get it! Freshly made deep-fried Eight-Armed Demon Spider legs! Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, made with a secret soul fire recipe. If it's not delicious, it's free!”

[Another one!]

Su Chen's mouth instantly began to water. He took a few quick steps forward and waved his hand grandly.

“Boss, I'll take all the spider legs you have!”

Just as he was about to feast, a scorching gaze filled with amazement and obsession stuck to him from behind, making his whole body stiffen.

Su Chen slowly turned his head and saw a face he would never forget for the rest of his life.