At night, candlelight flickers in the Buddha hall.
The preaching monk sits cross-legged on his cushion, facing the golden statue of the Buddha, hands clasped, a string of prayer beads hanging between his thumbs and index fingers.
He is softly reciting scriptures.
Repenting.
The rules of the Buddha Temple are clear: the Buddhist Sect is open to all monks who aspire to follow Buddha.
The rules of the Buddha Temple state that when preaching to other monks, one must not despise them for their nature, hate them for their evil, or drive them away for their foolishness.
Buddha saves all beings, universally delivering sentient life.
All sentient beings have spirits and are thus connected to Buddha.
He wants to expel Mu Kui because of his foolishness and has grown to despise him, which is against the precepts.
And this is his fiftieth repentance.The preaching monk, whose Dharma name is Hui Kong, has a cultivation level of only Human Origin, but because he is well-versed in Buddhist teachings, he has become one of the thousand elders of the Buddha Temple.
He has converted many murderous evildoers and also those who have fallen into demonic paths.
But that Mu Kui…
He really can’t handle him! Breaking the wooden fish is just one of the issues.
Hui Kong once told Mu Kui to abandon the wooden fish and recite from the scriptures instead.
One moment, Mu Kui could recite the contents of the scriptures from memory, but when it came to chanting, he would hesitate and not be able to utter a single word, then claim he forgot!
Hui Kong could see that Mu Kui was a body cultivator.
He had him chop wood and meditate to refine his mind.
But this guy was outrageous.
Chopping wood, he would split the ground!
He snored like thunder during meditation, startling the other monks, who thought it was divine retribution!
Hui Kong endured all this.
But the problem is, The Buddha Temple provides for the daily needs of the visiting monks who chant and meditate, satisfying their requirements.
Mu Kui, a Core Formation cultivator, often feels hungry like those in the lower four realms, and if he doesn’t get supplements like Qi and blood pills or beast meat, he needs to eat spiritual rice!
Eating spiritual rice is fine, the Buddha Temple is wealthy and wouldn’t begrudge some spiritual rice.
But Mu Kui eats too much!
One man’s appetite equals hundreds, and in four months, he has consumed several years’ reserves of spiritual rice from the temple!
If this continues, the temple will be eaten empty by Mu Kui! The Buddha Temple’s annual allocation to its subordinate preaching temples is limited, and to ensure the daily supply for other monks, Hui Kong has not only exhausted his spirit stones but even sold his own golden alms bowl recently!
Now, without his treasured high-grade wooden fish and the golden alms bowl awarded by the Buddha Temple when he became a preaching monk, he is undoubtedly the poorest elder in the history of the Buddha Temple. There’s none poorer.
Poverty is just a material concern.
Hui Kong still has that realization.
But…
“Buddha, when will this ever end!” Hui Kong is on the verge of madness.
Mu Kui refuses to leave, and according to the rules of the Buddha Temple, those who do not qualify in chanting and meditation cannot be expelled unless they wish to leave themselves.
As an elder well-versed in Buddhist teachings, he cannot lie or deceive by saying Mu Kui qualifies.
This is a dead end with no way out.
Mu Kui, staying here, is like a vampire, bound to drain him dry eventually! At first, Hui Kong thought that sacrificing himself to save others would be a meritorious deed.
“But Buddha, that Mu Kui is truly beyond salvation! He’s an idiot!” Hui Kong cries out.
After saying this, he suddenly wakes up while drenched in cold sweat.
As a high monk, he actually used vulgar language to insult others, committing the sin of anger!
He had to begin repenting again and chanting the scriptures aloud.
“The person filled with anger knows not what is good, knows not what is not good, does not contemplate sin or fortune, does not understand consequences, does not reflect upon themselves, and shall fall into the evil path.”
“The scriptures say, one should cultivate all sentient beings’ roots of virtue without dispute.”
“Those who are angry and do not understand, commit a parajika offense.”
The chanting stirred the Buddhist teachings within Hui Kong, causing them to revolve on their own.
At the same time, the golden body of the Buddha shone brightly, Buddha’s light enveloped the hall, and the sound of Buddha’s teachings echoed from all directions.
Half an hour later, the chanting ended, the Buddha’s light faded, and Hui Kong opened his eyes again.
The malicious aura in his eyes was gone, without anger or rage, and a profound smile hung on his lips, like an enlightened high monk.
“Elder, Mu Kui requests an audience,” a young novice monk reported from inside.
Upon hearing this, Hui Kong’s expression suddenly stiffened, and his high monk’s demeanor collapsed in an instant.
Soon, another person entered the Buddha hall.
This person was holding a bucket of rice a meter tall, babbling incessantly while grabbing handfuls of spiritual rice from the bucket and stuffing them into his mouth.
After a satisfying meal, this person did not forget to have the novice monk prepare more than ten cups of spiritual tea to quench his thirst.
This scene unfolded before Hui Kong’s eyes.
Although still seated on his meditation cushion with his eyes slightly closed, the corners of his mouth twitched uncontrollably, as if he were having a seizure.
“The person filled with anger knows not what is good, knows not what is not good…” he began chanting again.
Suddenly.
Burp—
Mu Kui, full from his meal, let out a loud belch.
The burp was deep and resonant, even stirring up a strong breeze that left Hui Kong in disarray.
Now, he could no longer continue his chanting.
“Why do you…”
Taking a deep breath, Hui Kong tried to suppress the thought of anger and asked, “Why must you come here to dine?”
“To ask the high monk to interpret a dream,” Mu Kui replied instantly.
Hui Kong was at a loss for words.
The answer was completely unrelated. He asked about dining, yet Mu Kui spoke of interpreting a dream.
Could they even have a proper conversation today?
“What dream?” Pressing hard on his temples, Hui Kong asked again.
Mu Kui straightened his expression, about to speak, but then furrowed his thick brows.
After a long moment of careful recollection, he scratched his head in embarrassment and said, “…I forgot.”
Hui Kong was on the verge of madness!
“But there’s another dream I do remember clearly,” Mu Kui added.
Hui Kong did not respond and closed his eyes again.
“In the dream, someone told me that I am the reincarnation of a Martial Emperor, who once tried to break through the heaven with force and ascend beyond the heavens, but was suppressed by the heavens!” Mu Kui declared.
“What?!”
Hui Kong’s eyes snapped open.
Cultivators rarely dream, and if they do, there must be a reason.
It could be a warning, a matter from a past life, or the emergence of inner demons, so it must be taken seriously.
If what Mu Kui said was true, there were only two possibilities.
He was either truly the reincarnation of a great emperor, or he had developed an obsession with one, creating inner demons!
“Every time you break through the heaven, do you witness any heavenly phenomena?” Hui Kong asked seriously.
“No,” Mu Kui shook his head.
“Have you experienced memories that seem unrelated to yourself?”
“Also no.”
Hui Kong fell silent, giving Mu Kui a strange look.
Without the phenomena that would arise from a complete imperial essence and without memories, it was impossible for him to be the reincarnation of a great emperor.
So, was it an inner demon?
But Mu Kui was simple-minded, honest, and even a bit dull. Logically, a cultivator with such a temperament should be the least likely to be affected by inner demons.
“Stretch your head over here, and I will use the Buddhist teachings to probe your sea of consciousness,” Hui Kong said.
Mu Kui had no objections and immediately leaned his head forward.
This made Hui Kong shake his head helplessly.
The sea of consciousness is a vital place for a cultivator, and any damage could reduce one to idiocy.
He didn’t expect Mu Kui to trust him completely without any guard.
“Well then, today I shall explore your inner demon! And guide you once more!”
Hui Kong said solemnly, reminding him, “The Buddhist teachings are gentle and will not harm your sea of consciousness. However, having your sea of consciousness probed will cause intense pain, so you will need to endure it.”
“Okay!” Mu Kui replied instantly.
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