“What? You wish for me to read books? And Buddhist scriptures at that?”

Chai A-Si felt tears welling up. “Esteemed Master, I walk the chaotic path. To be forced to read books? Other demons will laugh me to death. Do I have no face?”

“Do you have a face after this seat slaps you?”

Chai A-Si instantly wailed, “Esteemed Master! I am steeped in the five poisons, guilty of every evil deed. I still desire to marry, for the Chai family to have descendants. I don’t want to be a monk!”

“To have you read Buddhist scriptures does not mean I wish for you to become a monk,” the great voice from the mirror boomed, filled with disappointment. “Those who stand at the peak, which one has not delved into myriad laws and comprehended worldly truths? In the past, this seat was ever quick to learn, never parting with scrolls, which is why I achieved such heights. You, this ignorant little demon, dare to be so lax?”

Chai A-Si, though reprimanded, maintained his bitter expression. “Esteemed Master, it’s not that this little demon is unwilling to learn. It’s just that the Buddhist school speaks of sudden enlightenment. With my aptitude, what if I suddenly empty my four elements and attain Buddhahood on the spot? What then of Yuan Xiaoqing? What of Zhu Lanruo?”

The ancient great god was almost choked with laughter. “You may rest assured, for my Buddha does not ferry fools.”

If attaining Buddhahood on the spot were so simple, your Esteemed Master would have done so long ago! What matter are rules and precepts if power can be gained quickly and one can return to the present world? That is the true path.

Chai A-Si, how much face do you truly possess? You have cultivated thus far and barely reached the strength of a demon soldier, and you dare dream of attaining Buddhahood on the spot?

Chai A-Si’s face crumpled into a cry. “Esteemed Master, you instructed this little demon to trust only his sword, to trust only his path. This little demon has strictly adhered to your divine oracle. Now, I fundamentally do not believe in Buddhism. If I must believe in something, this little demon is only willing to believe in you…”

The voice from the mirror said, “To have you learn some Buddhist scriptures is to understand the Buddhist gate’s worldview, to strengthen your path to becoming a powerhouse… I am not asking you to believe in it.”

The ancient great god felt his heart ache from the bitterness, yet Chai A-Si remained unwilling. “Is there a possibility… that I can still become strong without reading Buddhist scriptures?”

The ancient great god was enraged. “Do you not listen even to this venerable one’s words?”

Chai A-Si had to speak the truth. “Mainly, this little demon knows few words. As for those Buddhist scriptures, the ones I can understand I cannot afford, and the ones I can afford I cannot understand… What am I to do?”

The demon race has always considered itself the master of the present world, favored by heaven and earth. Thus, their official language is the Dao language, and their official script is the Dao script. Upon hearing, one understands; upon seeing, one comprehends.

This Dao is the Great Dao itself. The human race’s Dao gate merely usurped the name of Dao.

However, the Dao language and Dao script ultimately require a certain level of cultivation to expound upon.

The lesser demons are not all mute; they also possess a unified demon language for communication, though various attributes result in different accents.

Yet in ordinary writings, they are strangely varied, lacking unification across attributes… After all, with the existence of Dao script, and with the demon race born with Dao veins, early-stage growth is relatively easy. The higher echelons of the demon race seem to perceive no necessity for unifying ordinary writings.

For Chai A-Si, Dao script classics were truly expensive, far beyond his reach. Since the Esteemed Master insisted he read Buddhist texts, he could only read some Buddhist scriptures translated into the writing of the dog race. And he didn’t recognize many words of even the dog race’s script, and Buddhist scriptures were ever obscure and difficult to understand.

The ancient great god consoled him, “You merely need to explore the history of the Buddhist gate’s development, collect Buddhist scriptures. If there are any you do not understand, this venerable one shall personally instruct you.”

It seems he would have to learn a bit of the dog race’s script as well… simply to broaden his knowledge.

How could an ancient god be so weary?

Jiang Someone absolutely dared not underestimate the heavenly will of the demon world. Even having made numerous preparations, and developing Chai A-Si, Yuan Lao Xi, and Zhu Da Li in three different directions, he still dared not say that he could now rest easy.

Beyond the existing schemes, he also had to actively pursue the path of the ancient sages.

He now vaguely sensed that the reason he was targeted by the demon world’s heavenly will might lie in his seizing the human Dao light at Guan He Tai – though he still didn’t know the exact use of the human Dao light, as a reward for being first in the Yellow River Meeting, he believed it was related to the human race’s absolute top prodigies and the future of the human race.

An existence as great as the World Honored One, in his youth, must also have been an absolute top prodigy, and should have been illuminated by the human Dao light. In other words, if the demon world’s heavenly will’s target was related to the human Dao light, then a later World Honored One would only be targeted more severely by the demon world’s heavenly will…

At that time, the World Honored One may not have had the grand army of the human race confronting the demon race, nor did he see so many human race powerhouses interfering and misleading the demon race.

But by now, looking back at ancient times, the World Honored One obviously successfully overcame the demon world’s heavenly will.

How did he do it?

Perhaps by tracing back history, he could find some clues.

He needed to see clearly what changes existed between the present world’s Buddhist gate and the demon world’s Buddhist gate. How did the entire history of the demon world’s Buddhist gate evolve and develop?

Even the time the World Honored One arrived in the Tian Yu world, whether it was at the end of the ancient era or in the middle ancient era, made a significant difference. The earlier the time, of course, the more difficult it was, and the more enlightenment it could provide him now.

Within the galloping carriages of the three demon races,

The ancient great god’s control over Chai A-Si was the strongest, after all, it was physical proximity. His control over Yuan Lao Xi was also very deep, achieved through the Six Desires Bodhisattva, the faceless god mold, and the mutual assistance of divine seal laws, faith, and benefits.

His control over Zhu Da Li was the weakest. Aside from the Frost Wind divine seal, it was purely organizational control. Absorbing him into the mysterious organization “Peace Dao,” providing certain rewards, and establishing his sense of honor in eradicating evil and slaying gods.

Tonight, Old Yuan’s Wine Shop was packed with enthusiastic drinkers, almost to the point of not having a single empty seat.

Even Zhu Da Li had no place to sit, so he stood in a corner, arms crossed, quietly observing the scene.

The reason was that, compared to usual, the wine shop had many demon race soldiers on leave. Although they weren’t wearing armor, each was in a relaxed posture, and the inherent quality of a regular army within their bones was undeniable.

The usual fierce and sinister little demons who would normally survey the area were all now like quails, purely busy as waiters, not revealing a hint of their usual ferocity.

Not to mention how ruthless they were when they were wielding knives and seizing territory.

In terms of ruthlessness and ferocity, where do bandits compare to soldiers?

To avoid trouble, Yuan Xiaoqing didn’t even come to the wine shop today.

No matter what god Yuan Lao Xi secretly supplied… even evil gods fear the regular army.

As Yuan Lao Xi’s former capable subordinate, now voluntarily retreating to the sidelines, Zhu Da Li was aware of Yuan Lao Xi’s secret developments and guessed that Yuan Lao Xi might also worship a certain evil god.

But first, he had a connection with Yuan Lao Xi, and Yuan Lao Xi was currently in a very good state, not damaged. Second, he also needed his current identity for cover, so he pretended not to know.

He would wait until the day he was prepared to leave this city, and then it wouldn’t be too late to chop down that evil god.

The wine shop was filled with a cacophony of voices. The opulent atmosphere he was accustomed to in the past, walking in darkness, now only made him feel bored.

This world was too chaotic, too strange. Only the cold edge of a blade could bring him peace.

At a nearby table, several demons were talking in low voices.

“What day is it today? How are there so many soldier ruffians back in the city?”

“Are you silly? The human race is celebrating the Dao Calendar New Year. This is usually a time of rest from war. Naturally, many soldiers are rotating back for rest.”

“Oh, oh, oh, if you didn’t say so, I would have forgotten!”

The demon race’s use of the Tai Ancient Calendar was inherently different from the Dao Calendar. The demon race originally had no tradition of welcoming the New Year. But through years of war, both sides had reached a degree of tacit understanding.

This included the intensity of various battlefields, and the cessation of war during the human race’s Dao Calendar New Year and the demon race’s Tai Ancient Calendar Heaven Grace Day.

“Dao Calendar New Year?” Zhu Da Li muttered a sentence, then dismissed it from his mind.

And in the underground room of the wine shop, hidden within the divine path space, the Six Desires Bodhisattva sighed softly.

He had been busy with this and that during this period, constantly weaving various possibilities and striving to explore the path back, almost forgetting the passage of time.

In the blink of an eye, it was already the New Year of Dao Calendar 3922.

Counting on his fingers, it had been over a month since he was lost in the Frost Wind Valley at the end of winter, surviving in the demon race’s territory.

The time didn’t feel too long, yet it felt so long…

How was An An?

Was she still growing up happily?

How were his friends and old acquaintances worried about him? How were the people in his fief, his retainers and subordinates?

Those past glories were truly like fleeting clouds, all memories, all remaining in another world. Everything he once possessed was so distant… even the wine stored in his mansion, even the debts he owed, even his ranking in the Tai Xu Illusion Realm’s blessed land…

Alone in a foreign land as a stranger.

A wide monk’s robe covered his body.

A Bodhi branch mask concealed his unrecognizable face.

A pair of black leather gloves, tightly fitted to perhaps slender fingers.

This was the female nun from Xi Yue An, Shi Tai Yu Zhen.

This was the concrete impression she left on the battlefield of Wu Nan.

Just like the sect of Xi Yue An, she made people feel mysterious.

She was rumored to be seen, but without much recognition.

Perhaps because the intensity of that war was too high, happening too suddenly, it seemed too unreal. Only a little over a month had passed, but in the feelings of many, that grand war seemed to have passed a very long time ago.

And the situation where Wu An City and Nan Tian City faced each other across the Frost Wind battlefield, each retreating thirty li, also seemed to have become something people were accustomed to.

This was just one of many battlefields between the human race and the demon race within the Tian Yu world, and not a very large one at that.

Lord Hui Guo Zuo Chao had already left, and Da Qi’s army god Jiang Mengxiong had withdrawn.

Heavenly Demon Zhu Yi was hiding to recuperate, and Yuan Xian Ting and Qi Guan Ying had also left.

Powerhouses at the peak, turning heaven and earth with a flip of their palms.

When they arrived, thunder shook for thousands of miles and lightning flashed. When they left, the sky was clear, and a golden sun hung in the air.

Qi Guo’s Court Official Wen Ren Shen and the Feather Race True Monster Que Meng Chen were the highest commanders on both sides of this racial battlefield. Both exercised considerable restraint, maintaining a certain tacit understanding. The aftermath of the war was more like training soldiers, with casualties controlled within a certain range.

During this period, Li Feng Yao and Li Long Chuan of the Stone Gate Li Clan, Yan Fu of the Bei Jun Yan Clan, Xu Xiang Qian of the Qing Ya Book Academy, and even Palace Master Jiang Wu You of Hua Ying Palace, all took turns coming to the demon world, coming to Wu An City.

Everyone knew that the name was “experience,” but the real purpose was mourning.

Mourning that perhaps forever departed person in the city that memorialized him.

After all, this was a battlefield that Qi Guo was responsible for. After the noise dissipated, there were not many “outsiders” still remaining here.

Shi Tai Yu Zhen was one of the few.

She seemed to be taciturn by nature, focusing on cultivation.

She participated in every battle, and charged in every battle. After the war ended, she would return to the temporary hall built within the city. She would light green lamps, strike the wooden fish, and recite Buddhist scriptures.

Shi Tai Yue Tian Nu, the disciple who did not conceal her puppet body, always accompanied her.

“What are you looking at?” Yue Tian Nu slowly walked over from a corner of the city wall and asked.

Standing in front of the somewhat mottled city wall, Yu Zhen withdrew her gaze. “Nothing.”

Yue Tian Nu noticed from a distance that some heartless person had carved words on this section of the wall. At this moment, walking closer, she saw clearly that it was written: “The Double Pride of Catch Horse Mountain, Xu Xiang Qian, toured here,” and a red cross was struck above “toured,” with “mourning” written beside it.

The words were not ugly, but the content was speechless.

Today was the New Year of 3922. Although it was a battlefield in the demon world, Wu An City was still full of houses hanging peach talismans, very lively.

Both Yu Zhen and Yue Tian Nu were renunciants, not accustomed to liveliness. Last night, on New Year’s Eve, they simply wandered outside the city.

The official statement was to memorialize Jiang Wu An and build the city. A month after the news of Lord Wu An’s death spread, the city was already very joyous. The sadness that enveloped the city at that time was real, and the joy of the rare cessation of war and welcoming the New Year this time was also real. World affairs are just so; life does not stop because someone disappears.

Yue Tian Nu thought for a moment and spoke, “On the Three Points Fragrance Building side…”

Yu Zhen didn’t wait for her to finish. “Give the secret realm quota to Xiang Ling’er. I… cannot be absent now.”

Yue Tian Nu looked at the color of the sky and said again, “Xi Yue An has not yet fully entered the world, and the forces we can mobilize are very limited. You have done all that you can… The deceased is gone, and the living must continue.”

Yu Zhen pursed her lips and said, “Senior Sister, I am only cultivating here.”

“I can no longer completely recover my past memories, but I have picked up some fragments. Those memories only make me more confused.” Yue Tian Nu put her palms together, her expression compassionate. “After completely choosing the puppet body, my emotions gradually disappeared. Ancestor said that if I were with you, I could perhaps grasp the word ’emotion’ and thus give birth to a natural spirit. Now I only feel increasingly confused. Yu Zhen, you say you desire both the incense of the heart and sandalwood, why do you stop here now?”

“Yes, why indeed?” Yu Zhen murmured.

“Is there no answer for you within the Three Points Fragrance Building? No answer within Xi Yue An? Can it not be found in the mundane world, nor in the Buddhist scriptures?” Yue Tian Nu asked successively.

Being with her day and night, one could indeed clearly feel that the emotions in the voice of this Senior Sister, who had rebuilt her body as a puppet, were decreasing day by day.

Her past was true, but it was not her truth today.

Yu Zhen thus said, “Whether he is present or not, everyone must continue to live. Except for me.”

Yue Tian Nu was thoughtful. “So the word ’emotion’ is something you cannot let go of?”

“I do not know either. It can have a thousand identical descriptions, yet it is ten thousand in one self.” Yu Zhen said, “Ancestor said that it was good for us to wait together, that Senior Sister’s state would give me insight, not cause me to be confused. I also really want to know, after all emotions have scattered, what Senior Sister cannot let go of.”

The divine ability to confuse the heart makes it difficult to escape self-confusion.

Yue Tian Nu originally wanted to say something else, but then suddenly stopped.

A sloppy, travel-worn, yellow-faced old monk, still bearing injuries, walked into view at this moment. His eyes glanced over, and his expression became sorrowful. “This old monk said he was just walking around, but he didn’t expect a bald head to meet a bald head… Not a good omen.”

“I cultivate with hair,” Yu Zhen remained unmoved.

“I am a puppet body,” Yue Tian Nu added.

Old monk Ku Jue from Xuan Kong Temple, and the two female nuns from Xi Yue An, looked at each other just like that. Then the old monk continued to walk towards the city. As his figure disappeared into the city gate, the old monk sighed compassionately, “Happy New Year.”

Bang bang bang!

Outside Wu An City, the female nuns discussed emotions.

Inside Wu An City, firecrackers sounded repeatedly.

Please note: