112: There are no monks in the world!

Li Chengqian's interrogation was like an invisible giant hammer hanging over everyone's heads at Xuanwu Gate.

The sound of the wind seemed to have stilled.

Time was infinitely stretched at this moment, with every breath filled with suffocating pressure.

Kneeling on the ground, Fang Xuanling, the Grand Chancellor of the Great Tang who once strategized and won battles a thousand miles away, was now just an old man with one foot in the grave.

He trembled all over, yet he couldn't utter a single word, only making a "ho ho" sound from his throat, like a broken bellows.

Li Chengqian's gaze finally moved from Fang Xuanling's despair-filled face.

He slowly turned his head, his gaze like an ice-tempered blade, first lightly sweeping over Princess Gaoyang, who was tear-stained and trembling, with not an ounce of pity in his eyes, only pure, undisguised disgust.

Then, his gaze fixed on the monk Bianji, who had kept his head down the entire time, trying to shrink into a ball.

In an instant, Bianji felt as if he had been targeted by a venomous snake.

A chill shot from the soles of his feet straight to the crown of his head, almost congealing the blood throughout his body.

He could feel that the gaze was no longer playful, no longer judgmental, but the purest, most primal Killing Intent.

The Crown Prince wanted to kill him!

This thought exploded in Bianji's mind like a thunderclap.

He didn't want to die!

He was a high Disciple of Master Xuanzang, a renowned eminent monk famous throughout Chang'an; his life had just begun, and he still had endless Buddhist teachings to comprehend. How could he die here without reason, like a wild dog?

Beg for mercy?

Looking at Fang Xuanling's fate, he knew that begging for mercy would only lead to deeper humiliation.

Fear and the instinct for survival fiercely battled within his heart, and in the end, a twisted arrogance, belonging to a cultivator, gained the upper hand.

He suddenly raised his head, meeting Li Chengqian's bottomless black eyes.

He struggled to get up from the ground, and though his legs were still trembling, he tried to straighten his back and tidied his moon-white monk's robe, as if this would restore some dignity.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

Bianji's voice was sharp and abrupt, piercing the deathly silence in front of Xuanwu Gate.

Everyone's gaze instantly focused on him, filled with shock and bewilderment.

Had he gone mad?

How dare he speak at a time like this?

But Bianji seemed to have clutched at a final straw. He took a deep breath and, with all his might, shouted, "You have gone astray! Abusing your authority, coercing senior Officials – this is the work of the Demonic Path!"

Seeing that Li Chengqian merely looked at him coldly, without immediately reacting, his courage grew a little.

He took a step forward, pointed a finger directly at Li Chengqian, and sternly cried, "I am an eminent Buddhist monk, one who prays for the welfare of all living beings! You must not insult me, nor must you kill me!"

"If you dare to harm me in the slightest, you will be an enemy to all of Buddhism! Tens of thousands of monks in the world will surely regard you as a demon! Our Buddha is compassionate, but also has the wrathful gaze of a Vajra! At that time, you will surely be cast into Avici Hell, to suffer eternal torment!"

The more he spoke, the more agitated he became, a pathological flush appearing on his face, as if he had already become an Incarnation of Buddhist justice, now judging the tyrant before him.

He finished speaking.

The entire world fell silent.

The Civil and Military Officials widened their eyes in horror; they simply couldn't believe their ears.

Threatening the Crown Prince?

And threatening him with the ethereal Buddha and Hell?

This monk was truly scared senseless.

However, to everyone's surprise, Li Chengqian did not fly into a rage.

He listened quietly, the chilling coldness on his face gradually receding, replaced by a strange, chilling expression.

"Heh..."

A soft chuckle escaped his throat.

Immediately after, the laughter grew louder, more unrestrained, from a low, muffled chuckle to a wild roar that echoed through the clouds.

"Haha... Hahahahahahaha!"

Li Chengqian laughed so hard he bent over, as if he had heard the funniest joke in the entire world.

His laughter reverberated across the vast square in front of Xuanwu Gate, carrying an indescribable madness and wickedness that sent shivers down the spines of all who heard it.

The Officials instinctively retreated, as if the one standing before them was not the Crown Prince of the Great Tang, but a peerless fiend who had just broken free from his shackles.

The smugness and sanctity on Bianji's face instantly froze, replaced by boundless terror.

From that laughter, he heard not a trace of apprehension, only pure, unadulterated contempt that viewed gods and Buddhas as nothing!

After laughing for a long time, Li Chengqian slowly straightened his back.

He raised a hand to wipe away the physiological tears that had streamed from his eyes due to laughter, and his dark eyes once again locked onto Bianji.

"Eighteen layers of Hell?"

His voice was as soft as a lover's whisper, yet it made Bianji feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

"Good."

The corners of Li Chengqian's mouth curved into a cruel arc, and he took a step forward, his black robe fluttering without wind.

"This Prince genuinely wishes to experience it."

He took another step, and a monstrous Killing Intent swept out like a raging torrent, pressing down on everyone present, making them almost unable to breathe.

"If I truly descend into those eighteen layers of Hell,"

The smile on his face grew even brighter, but his voice suddenly rose, transforming into an earth-shattering roar!

"I will kill until the heavens overturn and the earth cracks! Kill until ghosts wail and gods howl!"

He suddenly stretched out his hand, pointing at the ashen-faced Bianji, every word like a heavy hammer, striking everyone's heart!

"I will kill until those eighteen layers of Hell are — empty! desolate! void!"

"Empty! desolate! void!"

The last three words, like three bolts of heavenly thunder, struck in front of Xuanwu Gate, shattering everyone's Divine Souls and making their ears ring.

That monstrous Killing Intent and madness transformed into a tangible cold wind, sweeping across the square, making the banners snap and crackle, and also making the Officials' robes cling tightly to their bodies, outlining their trembling silhouettes.

The entire world was dead silent.

Only Li Chengqian's demonic figure remained, standing alone between heaven and earth, as if he were the sole Lord of Hell.

Bianji's face was no longer ashen, but deathly pale, as white as paper, so thin that it seemed it would crumble at a touch.

The eighteen layers of Hell were his last reliance, his ultimate Magical Artifact as an eminent Buddhist monk, used to awe the emperors of the world.

But now, this Magical Artifact was shattered by Li Chengqian's foot.

No, he wasn't just shattering it.

He was going to charge in and tear down Hell itself!

Large beads of cold sweat rolled down Bianji's smooth forehead, sliding along his stiff cheeks, dripping onto his kasaya, soaking a small dark stain.

He couldn't die, how could he die here?

He was an enlightened monk, a revered Buddhist Disciple, he still had to save all sentient beings, and he still had to be with Princess Gaoyang... The instinct for survival overwhelmed the deep-seated fear. He was like a drowning man, wildly flailing his arms, trying to grasp another straw.

"You... you..." His voice was hoarse and dry, with a violent tremor, "If you kill me, the Buddha may be far away in the Western Heavens, but... but the world's Buddhist sects, the world's Buddhas, will surely not tolerate you!"

He practically roared these words, using his last ounce of strength, as if to shout his Soul out of his body.

"The world's monks will surely regard you as a demon! The world's believers will surely despise you! Your empire will never know peace!"

He was hoarse, his eyes filled with a final madness.

You're not afraid of Hell, but what about the Mortal world?

Are you not afraid of the immense power consolidated by these tens of thousands of temples and hundreds of millions of believers?

However, what answered him was another burst of laughter.

If the previous laughter was maniacal, tyrannical.

Then the laughter now was pure, undisguised, heartfelt mockery and disdain.

"Haha..."

Li Chengqian laughed so hard he bent over, supporting his knee with one hand, his shoulders shaking violently.

He looked up at Bianji, his gaze like one looking at a clown, strenuously performing a clumsy trick.

"The world's Buddhas?"

He slowly repeated, his tone full of mockery.

He slowly straightened up, pacing, step by step, unhurriedly walking towards Bianji, who had already collapsed on the ground.

Each step was like stepping on everyone's heart.

"Are you referring to those mud and wood statues that sit high in temples, enjoying human incense, yet turn a blind eye to the suffering of the world?"

His voice was not loud, yet it clearly reached everyone's ears.

The Officials all lowered their heads, not daring to meet his gaze, fearing to be scorched by the all-consuming fire in his eyes.

Zhangsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, and others were even more greatly shaken.

Your Highness, the Crown Prince, is this going to...

Li Chengqian walked up to Bianji, looking down at him from above, his black boots almost touching Bianji's dust-stained kasaya.

"What use are mud Buddhas?"

He softly retorted, as if asking Bianji, and also as if asking all the Heavenly Gods and Buddhas.

"Can they feed and clothe the common people? Can they resist the Turks' iron cavalry from the north? Can they ensure that this Great Tang empire lasts for thousands of generations?"

Three consecutive questions, like three heavy whips, struck Bianji speechless.

The smile on Li Chengqian's face grew even wider, that smile filled with cold Killing Intent.

"They can do nothing!"

"A bunch of clay figures that can't even protect themselves, do they dare to not tolerate me?"

He suddenly raised his voice, loud as a great bell, shaking the dust from the Xuanwu Gate tower!

"Good!"

Li Chengqian suddenly flicked his sleeve, the black fabric drawing a sharp arc in the air.

He stretched out his finger, pointing westward, towards the direction where the Buddha was said to reside, and also towards the countless temples within the Great Tang.

"If it does not tolerate me, then this Prince..."

He paused, looking around, his gaze sweeping over faces filled with terror, finally resting again on Bianji's pupils, which had lost all their luster.

"Then I will overthrow all the Buddhas in this world!"

"Destroy all the temples in this world!"

"And make all the Heavenly Gods and Buddhas for this Prince — vanish! scatter! dissipate!"

At these words, heaven and earth changed color!

A chill even more terrifying than before instantly enveloped the entire Xuanwu Gate.

All the Officials, both Civil and Military, turned pale simultaneously, their bodies uncontrollably trembling violently.

He's mad!

His Highness, the Crown Prince, is truly mad!

This is no longer as simple as killing a monk!

This is an extermination of Buddhism!

This is to wage full-scale war against a Buddhist sect that has been passed down for hundreds of years!

Such words, let alone a Crown Prince, even Emperor Li Shimin would never dare to utter!

Bianji stared blankly at Li Chengqian, his mouth unconsciously agape, yet unable to make any sound.

All the Buddhist scriptures in his mind, all the monastic rituals, all the power of faith, were at this moment shattered and pulverized by Li Chengqian's wild words.

He finally understood.

The Crown Prince before him was not a tyrant, not an evil demon.

He was a... monster, who dared to pull even gods and Buddhas from their altars and trample them underfoot!

With a "thud."

Bianji could no longer support himself and completely collapsed to the ground, his eyes vacant, muttering to himself, incoherent, his entire being like mud from which the backbone had been extracted.

Li Chengqian slowly withdrew his hand that was pointing at the sky, but the arrogant Aura that could incinerate heaven and earth did not dissipate in the slightest; instead, it solidified around him like a tangible entity, transforming into an even purer, colder Killing Intent.

His gaze fell back onto Bianji, who lay like a pile of mud.

His eyes were as black as an eternal night without stars.

"Someone!"

He spoke, his voice calm, yet it made everyone's heart tighten.

"Take this Evil Monk... out and dismember him by a thousand cuts!"

He uttered the words "dismember him by a thousand cuts" very slowly, very softly, as if savoring the cruelty and bloodiness these two words represented.

When his voice fell, the entire area in front of Xuanwu Gate was dead silent.

The wind seemed to have stopped.

The Civil and Military Officials' faces, which had just turned pale at the mention of "destroying Buddhism," were now utterly bloodless, even tinged with the grayish-green hue of a corpse.

Dismemberment by a thousand cuts!

Since the founding of the Great Tang, although there had been cruel punishments, "dismemberment by a thousand cuts," such a brutal and inhumane penalty, had long been explicitly abolished by Emperor Taizong!

His Highness, the Crown Prince, not only wanted to kill people and destroy Buddhism, but he also wanted to... revive this cruel punishment from the previous dynasty!

Several Imperial Guards responsible for the execution exchanged glances, their hands gripping their saber hilts drenched in cold sweat, their legs like lead, not a single one daring to move.

Just as the congealed air was about to be crushed by fear, a sharp female voice tore through the silence.

"How dare you!"

From the crowd, a figure in a luxurious palace dress stumbled out, her hair disheveled, her hairpins scattered, it was Princess Gaoyang.

She rushed to Bianji's side, spreading her arms like a hen protecting her chick, using her delicate body to block between Li Chengqian and Bianji.

Her face was covered in tears and fright, yet she forced out a defiant Aura, glaring fiercely at Li Chengqian.

"Li Chengqian! He is an enlightened monk! You cannot kill him! If you dare to harm a single hair on his head, I... I will report it to Imperial Father!"

She thought that by invoking Li Shimin and her status as a princess, she could at least make her brother, who had gone mad, sober up for a moment.

However, she was wrong.

She saw a strange smile appear on Li Chengqian's face.

That smile was uglier than crying, colder than ice.

"Report to Imperial Father?"

Li Chengqian seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world; he walked towards Gaoyang, step by step.

Princess Gaoyang was forced to retreat repeatedly by his terrifying Aura, her feet tripping on her skirt, causing her to fall clumsily to the ground.

"Noisy!"

Li Chengqian's patience seemed to have run out at this moment; he didn't even bother to say another word.

"Clang—"

A sword cry, like a Dragon's roar.

The saber at his waist instantly unsheathed, transforming into a black light, tracing an arc of death in the air.

Fast!

Extremely fast!

No one reacted!

Zhangsun Wuji and the others only had time to let out a horrified cry: "Your Highness, no—!"

"Pfft!"

The sound of a sharp blade piercing flesh was dull yet clear.

A line of blood suddenly bloomed on Princess Gaoyang's left arm!

Crimson blood gushed out like a broken dam, instantly soaking her beautiful palace dress and splashing onto the cold stone slab beneath her.

"Ah—!"

A heart-wrenching scream finally erupted from Princess Gaoyang's throat.

Excruciating pain, like a tide, engulfed her. She clutched her profusely bleeding left arm, rolling on the ground in agony, her once delicate and beautiful face now twisted beyond recognition by the intense pain and fear.

She looked at Li Chengqian in disbelief, at the brother who used to smile gently at her.

In his eyes, there was not a trace of pity, not a trace of hesitation.

Only... pure, brutal, impatient Killing Intent.

He would really kill her!

"Do you think that just because you have the Li family Bloodline, I wouldn't dare to kill you?"

Li Chengqian flicked his wrist, and the blood beads on the tip of the sword splattered onto the ground, blooming into tiny blood flowers. He looked down at his wailing sister on the ground, his tone as cold as the wind from the depths of Hell.

"Say one more word, and the next sword will cut off your head!"

The whole place was silent.

Everyone was completely stunned by this scene.

Wounding a princess!

Wounding the current princess in front of the Civil and Military Officials!

Mad!

This Crown Prince had completely lost control!

Li Chengqian no longer looked at Gaoyang, as if she were just an annoying ant. He turned his head, his gaze like a knife, sweeping over the Imperial Guards who were already terrified.

"What are you still standing there for!"

He roared furiously, his voice rolling, making the entire Xuanwu Gate hum.

"Drag this Evil Monk out for me! Dismember him by a thousand cuts!"

"I want everyone in Chang'an to see! I want all the Buddhist sects in the world to see!"

His voice was filled with frantic delight.

"How this Evil Monk, who dared to bewitch a princess and defile the palace, is sliced into pieces of flesh!"

The Imperial Guards jolted, no longer daring to hesitate in the slightest, pouncing like wolves and tigers, hoisting up the limp Bianji.

The fear of death, and the pain of his flesh being dragged, finally pulled Bianji back from the Chaos of nothingness.

He felt the rough stone slabs scraping against his cheek; he smelled the strong scent of blood from his lover's arm.

He was going to die.

And in the most humiliating, most painful way.

No!

Impossible!

A survival instinct suddenly erupted from the depths of his being.

He struggled, using all his strength, raising his head to look at the Crown Prince, who held a dripping sword, like a Demonic God descended.

"You... you cannot kill me!"

His voice was hoarse and broken, yet carried a strange calm, the last struggle born of despair.

"This humble monk... this humble monk is Xuanzang's Personal Disciple! He is the Buddha's messenger in the Mortal world!"

Bianji gasped, trying to regain his crushed pride and dignity.

"If you kill me, you are an enemy of Buddha! Though the Buddha is merciful, he also has the wrath of a Vajra! You... you will suffer Karma! The entire Great Tang will fall into eternal damnation because of your atrocities!"

He thought that by invoking the Buddha and the ethereal Karma, he could make this young man feel a hint of apprehension.

However, Li Chengqian just listened quietly.

After listening, he laughed.

It was a scornful, mocking laugh, like watching a clown perform.

He slowly raised his foot and stepped on Bianji's still chattering face, grinding it hard.

"Karma?"

He increased the pressure of his foot by a few points, and Bianji's cheekbones let out a grating crunch, as mud mixed with bloody foam oozed from the corners of his mouth.

"I'm asking you a question, Evil Monk."

Li Chengqian's voice was very soft, as soft as a lover's whisper, yet it carried the chill from the depths of Hell, seeping into the bones of everyone present.

"If I make the world without monks, tell me, will there still be Karma?"

Boom!

These words, like a black lightning bolt, tore through the gloomy sky above Xuanwu Gate, striking hard at everyone's heart.

The world, without monks?

What kind of mad, arrogant, blasphemous words were these!

Bianji completely froze.

His eyes, bulging with fear, stared fixedly at Li Chengqian.

The boot on his face, in his eyes now, seemed to transform into a boundless, towering mountain, crushing his Divine Soul.

Karma?

The Buddha's Karma?

His identity, which he had always been proud of, his last trump card used to awe the world, was, at this moment, crushed to dust by this madman in an even more insane and thorough manner.

Killing a monk would result in Karma.

But what if... all the monks in the world were killed?

Who would the Buddha seek Karma from then?

This thought, like the most vicious devil, instantly invaded Bianji's entire mind. He no longer felt the pain in his face, nor did he hear the mournful cries of his sister, Princess Gaoyang. In his world, only Li Chengqian's chillingly calm gaze remained.

In that gaze, there was no question, no probing.

Only a statement.

He was stating a fact that he could act upon at any time.

"Uh... ah..."

Bianji's throat emitted a wheezing sound like a broken bellows; he wanted to speak, to refute, to scream, but not a single word could escape. An unprecedented fear, surpassing death, like icy seawater, completely submerged him.

His faith, his very means of survival, collapsed at this moment.

He was not the Buddha's messenger in the Mortal world.

He was just a Mortal... who bled, who feared, who could be stepped on the face and dared not even fart.

Li Chengqian looked at the face beneath his foot, which had completely lost its luster, and the impatience in his eyes grew even stronger.

He seemed to feel that saying one more word to this pile of mud would be an insult to himself.

He slowly lifted his foot and, with a gesture of disgust, wiped the sole of his boot on the nearby stone steps, as if brushing off some foul filth.

He didn't even look at Bianji again.

His gaze, cold as ice, swept over the Civil and Military Officials, who were as silent as cicadas in winter.

From Fang Xuanling's pale face, to Wei Zheng's tightly clenched fists, to Zhangsun Wuji's unfathomable eyes.

Everyone lowered their heads, not daring to meet his gaze.

Today's Crown Prince was a primordial beast that had broken free from all its shackles.

Whoever dared to obstruct him would be torn to shreds.

"What are you waiting for?"

Li Chengqian's voice reverted to its previous brutality; he roared at the Imperial Guards who were scared out of their wits.

"Don't you understand what I'm saying!"

"Dismemberment! By! A thousand! Cuts!"

"I want his wails to echo throughout Chang'an! I want to use his bones to toll the death knell for all the Heavenly Gods and Buddhas!"

"Yes!"

The Imperial Guards, like condemned prisoners granted a reprieve, erupted with astonishing strength. Two of them hoisted Bianji's arms, two lifted his legs, and like dragging a dead dog, they quickly dragged him towards the outside of Xuanwu Gate.

The rough stone road carved new bloody gashes on Bianji's once handsome face.

He didn't struggle.

He no longer dared to struggle.

His spirit had died.

Only an empty shell remained, awaiting the inevitable, agonizing torture of a thousand cuts.

The grating sound of dragging echoed in front of the silent Xuanwu Gate.

Princess Gaoyang's cries also stopped abruptly; she clutched her bleeding, severed arm, looking at her brother, at that familiar yet strange back, trembling like a leaf in the wind.

Li Chengqian held the long sword, blood beads slowly sliding down the blade, drip, drip, splashing onto the cold ground.

He stood there quietly, like a Demonic God emerged from a sea of blood, looking down at the world beneath his feet, a world he had completely trampled underfoot... Brothers, are you still reading?

I'm a bit overwhelmed.

If you are reading, make a sound.