Chapter 728 - 675: Not Meeting

Chapter 728: Chapter 675: Not Meeting

"Aren’t you going to Prajna Temple to find Niankong?"

Walking through the workshop, Yun Shang adjusted her scarf to shield against the sand, lowered her conical hat to avoid the crowd, and asked Jiang Yuebai.

In the bustling workshop, banners fluttered in the wind, and the roadsides were lined with stone and earth houses along with various stalls.

Jiang Yuebai also wore a conical hat and scarf, suppressing her cultivation alongside Yun Shang to Late-Stage Foundation Establishment. Along the way, she had heard quite a bit about Prajna Temple.

Overall, the current abbot of Prajna Temple, the newly formed core monk Niankong, had a good reputation. He had taken in many orphans from the Quicksand Domain into the temple, a gesture greatly respected.

However, secretly, many people claimed that Niankong was kind on the outside but ruthless inside, skilled in schemes, and secretly incited the Buddhist Sect in the Quicksand Domain to continue opposing the Martial Sect. Several small sects had already been destroyed.

And all those destroyed were the main culprits involved in the massacre of Prajna Temple back in the day.

Jiang Yuebai sighed, "No, I’m not going. I only came to the Quicksand Domain to see with my own eyes that Prajna Temple has indeed been rebuilt and everything is well. Thus, I can consider the promise I made to Ruosheng years ago fulfilled. The situation here is too complicated, and with the Heavenly Interence Sect backing me now, I don’t want to get involved in unnecessary troubles."

Yun Shang held Jiang Yuebai’s arm, steering clear of the enthusiastic vendors by the roadside, "But Niankong misses you a lot. During the years you were gone, he visited the Heavenly Interence Sect twice to see you. Don’t be too swayed by rumors, Niankong isn’t that kind of person."

Furrowing her brows slightly, Jiang Yuebai let her gaze pass through the main street of the workshop and fall on the ancient Buddhist temple in the distance.

Instinctively, she pressed her Dantian. Although the five Heaven and Earth Spiritual Objects within her had fully merged and were swallowed by the subsequent Chaos Qi, she inexplicably still sensed some of Ruosheng’s aura emanating from Prajna Temple.

Jiang Yuebai’s intuition told her it was better not to meet, otherwise the ties of fate would be difficult to sever.

It might be cruel and unfair to Niankong, but humans inherently possess a selfish side. When Niankong chose to inherit the legacy of Prajna Temple and Ruosheng’s will, she made her feelings clear.

All she could do now was leave a farewell letter for Niankong.

"Let’s find a tavern to rest for a bit, then we’ll head directly to Iron Feather Country to find Shen Huaxi. You can steer the Cloud-Breaking Charge on the way; I need to close up for a short session."

Jiang Yuebai led Yun Shang out of the workshop. Earlier, she’d been struck by a bolt gathered by the Thunder Spirit at the lake’s bottom, which not only scattered her body entirely but also cracked her strongest spine.

But the gains from this experience far outweighed the losses.

The desert sand rolls like a sea, and the blazing sun burns like a furnace.

At Prajna Temple, a young monk with a gentle appearance sat cross-legged beneath a Bodhi Tree, fingers turning a string of Buddha Beads, eyes closed in meditation. His clean white monk’s robe was spotless.

The contrast with the tree full of red prayer strips enveloped him in a sacred and flawless radiance.

"Abbot, someone delivered this for you, saying it is from an old acquaintance of yours."

The little monk ran to the Bodhi Tree with a wooden box, Niankong’s long eyelashes fluttered gently, the chanting paused, fingers halted, and eyes slowly opened.

Those eyes were like a clear spring, bottomless yet perfectly transparent.

Taking the box handed over by the little monk, Niankong opened it and found some jade scrolls and a letter inside.

He set aside the prayer beads, opened the letter, and after reading the brief lines, invoked a Buddha’s name, filled with endless regret and helplessness.

"Amitabha Buddha, Sister Yuebai truly does not wish to meet me again."

The letter was a farewell note, promising henceforth to be strangers, each living their own life well.

The jade scrolls in the box were parting gifts from Jiang Yuebai, collected Buddhist scriptures and some Buddhist Cultivation Techniques, Martial Arts Cultivation Techniques from the Upper Realm.

Rustling~

The wind rustled through the leaves, and red prayer strips on the Bodhi Tree fell and danced around, coalescing behind Niankong into a humanoid form, which in the blink of an eye became a monk draped in a red kasaya, with an enchanting face.

"Little Niankong, didn’t you foresee this outcome long ago? Why the lament?"

Niankong lowered his gaze, "A bit sad, that’s all. Ruosheng, do you not wish to see her again?"

Ruosheng sat beside Niankong, leaning over to flip through the jade scrolls.

"She and I were never close, besides, if she found out that I had an ulterior motive back then, she’d likely have no hesitation in killing me. As things stand, letting her believe she’s repaid my kindness and cleared her debt is enough."

Back then, in a life-and-death situation, Ruosheng had told Jiang Yuebai he was sacrificing his Spiritual Sense for her to swallow, as long as she promised to help him rebuild Prajna Temple.

However, in reality, he left a trace of Spiritual Sense, hidden within the original text of the Prajna Sutra he gave to Jiang Yuebai. The moment she thoroughly read the entire scripture, that trace could be awakened.

At the time, Ruosheng advised Jiang Yuebai that a few fewer acts of kindness might not always bring good returns for this reason.

His plan was that, if he failed his revenge, he’d allow Jiang Yuebai to devour him, and then, once she read the Prajna Sutra, parasitize that trace into her, gradually influencing her, and ultimately guiding her to assist in his revenge.

But Jiang Yuebai, although interested in all her books, merely browsed the Prajna Sutra casually before tossing it aside and focused instead on cultivating the Nine Revolutions Golden Body Technique Ruosheng gave her.

Ruosheng was never a proper monk, how could he develop genuine goodwill for a mere acquaintance?

Jiang Yuebai was very smart; if she were still willing to associate with Niankong, Ruosheng would leverage her connection with True Monarch Wangshu from the Heavenly Interence Sect to further his revenge scheme.

For the sake of revenge, Ruosheng could abandon anything, including his own life.

Ruosheng casually tossed the jade scrolls back into the box, eyes slightly raised, "Little Niankong, all those years under Monk Wochen..."

"He is my master," Niankong calmly interrupted Ruosheng.

Ruosheng raised a hand, "Alright, alright, under your compassionate master, struggling to survive wasn’t easy. Fortunately, the Heavenly Dao opened its eyes, tangled your master with a Heart Demon, and his cultivation started continuously declining, otherwise, you wouldn’t have returned to Prajna Temple so soon. He wouldn’t have stopped until you’ve achieved Buddhahood."

Niankong lowered his gaze, saying nothing.

Ruosheng chuckled, "Alright, alright, I know you want to repay your master’s debt, wanting to guide me to Buddha, but my fixation is too profound. If I can’t have revenge, I swear not to embrace Buddhism, and your master’s Heart Demon Tribulation can never be resolved. This is indeed the destiny of cause and creation; it’s the price he pays for having turned a blind eye back then and hindering my revenge."

Niankong closed his eyes again, fingers turning the Buddha Beads, silently chanting scriptures.

Ruosheng lay on the ground with arms as pillows next to Niankong, gazing at the sky through the Bodhi Tree.

At dusk, sunset glow spilled over Prajna Temple, where a monk dressed in white sat beneath a tree chanting scriptures, while a demon monk clad in red listened quietly to the wind.

"For your master, you are willing to help me commit my sins; for my master, I am willing to abandon Buddhism and become a demon, Niankong, we are the same kind of people..."