2348 Old Friends
In a corner of Avici, two monks stood. They were covered in blood and looked extremely wretched—they must have experienced countless dangers along the way.
At the front was a middle-aged monk. He was tall and burly with raised brows and widened eyes, resembling an enraged Vajra.
Behind the tall monk was a young monk. He looked much thinner and lowered his head, chanting the Ksitigarbha Buddhist sutras continuously.
The tall monk gazed ahead with a fervent excitement in his widened eyes.
There was a figure sitting in a lotus position. He had existed for a long time but the flesh on his body showed no signs of decay. His skin was rosy like a living person.
However, there was no longer any life in that figure’s body.
Beside the figure were a few fruits.
Not far away, there was an ancient tree that was in tatters. Although its leaves were withered, its trunk was still intact.
“I’ve finally found Founder Master Ananda’s inheritance!”
The tall monk looked at that figure and could not help but burst into laughter. “As long as I inherit Founder Master Ananda’s inheritance, I’ll have a chance of condensing a Grotto-heaven and becoming an Immortal King, becoming the abbot of Vessa Monastery!”
The young monk did not reply and continued chanting his Buddhist sutras.
The tall monk took a deep breath and strode forward, prepared to receive the inheritance of Founder Master Ananda.
However, when he was a hundred feet away from Founder Master Ananda, he was blocked by an unimaginably repulsive force!
A golden halo gradually appeared within Founder Master Ananda’s body and spread rapidly, forming a barrier with a radius of a hundred feet that isolated the tall monk.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
No matter how the tall monk charged, he could not break through the golden barrier.
“Founder Master Ananda, why won’t you let me in?!”
The tall monk was enraged and hollered, “I’m Arhat Bu Chen of Vessa Monastery! I’m the only one qualified to receive your inheritance!”
The golden halo showed no signs of diminishing.
The young monk’s head was still slightly lowered as he chanted sutras.
“Stop chanting!”
When the tall monk saw that Ananda’s inheritance was within reach but he could not obtain it, he felt frustrated and could not help but scold indignantly, “I’m an Arhat of Vessa Monastery who condensed the Arhat Dao Fruit. Why is Founder Master Ananda stopping me?!”
“Senior Brother Bu Chen, you brought 10,000 monks from Vessa Monastery into Avici this time round. Now that we’re here, there’s only the two of us left.”
“Hmph!”
Arhat Bu Chen harrumphed coldly and said slowly, “You possess the inheritance of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. You should understand the spirit of selfless sacrifice better than anyone else!”
“Their sacrifices will allow Founder Master Ananda’s inheritance to see the light of day once more. This is the fortune of Vessa Monastery and their merits are immeasurable!”
The young monk shook his head gently. “Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva sacrificed himself to save all living beings. As for you, you sacrificed others to accomplish yourself.”
“The difference between Buddha and fiends lies in their intent.”
“Senior brother, you’ve already turned into a fiend. How can you obtain the recognition of Founder Master Ananda?”
Arhat Bu Chen’s expression darkened as he said coldly, “How dare a mere Earth Immortal like you lecture me? If I hadn’t protected you along the way, you would have been torn apart by those living beings of Hell given your combat strength!”
“Senior Brother Bu Chen, you must have other motives for protecting me, right?” The young monk said indifferently.
Arhat Bu Chen raised his brow, seemingly surprised.
After a moment of silence, he said, “There’s no harm in telling you openly. I need you to hand over the cultivation technique of the Ksitigarbha Golden Body.”
“And if I don’t?”
The young monk asked.
Arhat Bu Chen smiled. “It’s not appropriate for me to attack you in Vessa Monastery. However, there’s only the two of us in Avici right now. No matter how I torture you, no one else will know!”
“If that doesn’t work, I can even use the Soul Searching Art on you!”
Although the Soul Searching Art could search one’s memories, there was a high chance it would fail.
Furthermore, lineage memories like the Ksitigarbha Golden Body were almost always protected and it was difficult to obtain them even if one’s soul was searched.
The young monk had an indifferent expression and his eyes were clear without any fear. He said calmly, “If I reveal the cultivation technique of the Ksitigarbha Golden Body, you will probably get rid of me right away, senior brother.”
Arhat Bu Chen’s gaze was dark.
Initially, he thought that this young monk was simple-minded and focused on Zen cultivation, chanting sutras and paying respects to Buddha all day long. This was somebody naive and knew nothing about schemes and plots.
To think that his junior brother would expose his plans with a single sentence!
Arhat Bu Chen was frustrated to begin with because he could not get close to Founder Master Ananda or obtain the inheritance.
Now that the young monk was still so calm in the face of his threat, he was even more frustrated!
Arhat Bu Chen took a step forward and reached out, grabbing the young monk by the throat and lifting him up. He said coldly, “Junior brother, I don’t have much patience. You had better tell me the complete cultivation secret skill and I can give you a swift death so that you won’t be tortured!”
The young monk’s throat was gripped and he could not breathe, causing his face to flush red.
However, his gaze was still calm and his eyes were clear. He looked at Arhat Bu Chen with a hint of pity.
Right then, a crack appeared in the void beside the two monks.
A purple-robed cultivator with a silver mask strode out. His eyes were deep as he glared at Arhat Bu Chen coldly with a chilling killing intent!
Immediately after, Su Zimo, Mo Qing and Yun Zhu arrived as well.
“Ming Zhen!”
Su Zimo was delighted when he saw the young monk and shouted.
The two true bodies had ascended to the Heavenly World for thousands of years but only met two old friends from Tianhuang Mainland.
Among them, the Thunder Emperor, Feng Cantian, was an expert of the primordial era.
To be precise, Su Zimo had only met a single old friend from Tianhuang Mainland in this generation—the Asura, Yan Beichen.
To think that he would be able to meet Ming Zhen in Avici!
“Who are you guys?”
Arhat Bu Chen looked at Su Zimo and the others and narrowed his eyes slightly with a grim expression. He still gripped Ming Zhen’s throat while using him as a shield.
Phew!
A gentle breeze blew past.
Arhat Bu Chen felt his vision blur. Before he could react, the Martial Dao Prime Body was already standing in front of him, gripping his wrist and exerting strength!
Crack!
Arhat Bu Chen’s wrist was crushed by the Martial Dao Prime Body!
“Ah!”
Arhat Bu Chen shrieked tragically.
However, his cry stopped abruptly.
The Martial Dao Prime Body crushed Arhat Bu Chen’s wrist and strode forward. With a single punch, he ruptured the latter’s head and his Essence Spirit shattered, dying on the spot!
Even the tenth on the Perfected Fiend Ranking, Sect Master White Bones, could not defend against a single punch from the Martial Dao Prime Body, let alone Arhat Bu Chen.
Su Zimo hurried forward and supported Ming Zhen.
“Junior Brother Ming Xin.”
Ming Zhen looked at Su Zimo and greeted with an innocent and bright smile.
His manner of addressing Su Zimo seemed to have brought the two of them back to the bottom of the Dragon Burial Valley.
The two of them exchanged glances and smiled.
Now that they were reunited in the upper world after so man years, apart from joy, there was also melancholy.