Monk Bu’er’s face turned ashen with fear.
He simply couldn’t understand or figure out what kind of existence this utterly ordinary, unremarkable fellow before him was. How could he know so much about him? Knowing his name was one thing, but how did he know he was a Tribulation Response individual, that he carried a Buddhist Dao Mandate, a Heavenly Mandate, and even understood the other blessing within him so clearly?
How was this possible!
Just who was this guy!
Monk Bu’er racked his brains but couldn’t come up with an answer. He also didn’t remember ever knowing someone so mysterious.
And this fellow wasn’t even an immortal—just a mortal with no cultivation to speak of, no blessings whatsoever.
What in the blazes was going on?
Wait!
Could he be one of those great powers who have recently awakened and returned?
Monk Bu’er was well aware that over the past ten thousand years of the Present Era, as the Great Nature returned, the spiritual energy between heaven and earth had grown increasingly dense. Not only had all things in the universe begun to revive, but those ancient great powers had also gradually awakened.
What with the thrones of the Ancient Era, the great emperors of the Remote Ancient Era, the sovereigns of the Primeval Era, various masters of the Great Daos, and those ancient ancestors who had cultivated for who knows how many years… Even the damned Gui Xu had collapsed. Who knew how many terrifying existences had emerged.
Could this person be one of those legendary beings?
Wait.
This fellow was just a mortal, yet so unfathomably deep.
Could he be one of those exceptional individuals among the legends—a Superior?
Unclear.
Monk Bu’er couldn’t be sure.
He initially considered manifesting his Buddhist Dao Mandate, even his Heavenly Mandate power, to probe this fellow. But seeing Gu Qingfeng sitting atop the Buddha statue’s head with such a leisurely, carefree demeanor, as if he didn’t take Monk Bu’er seriously in the slightest, he thought it over and decided to drop the idea.
This guy was too mysterious, too frightening. Who knew what his purpose was in coming here? If he summoned his Heavenly Mandate and this bastard snatched it away, the loss would be catastrophic.
Having one’s Heavenly Mandate seized was no rare occurrence in the past ten thousand years of the Present Era. Many Present Era Star Mandates, including Ancient Era Throne Mandates, had been snatched away by awakened ancient great powers.
“What’s this? Scared already?”
Gu Qingfeng shook his head disdainfully. “You’re supposed to be a Tribulation Response individual of the Present Era. Can’t you stop being such a coward?
With this thing on you, what’s there to be afraid of? This is more reliable than any protective talisman.”
Gu Qingfeng wasn’t joking or deliberately teasing Monk Bu’er. The title ‘Tribulation Response individual’ was indeed more reliable than any protective talisman.
A Tribulation Response individual, as the name implied, was born in response to a calamity—responding to the calamity of the Present Era.
In any era, Tribulation Response individuals were key protected targets of the Three Thousand Great Daos. Especially in the Present Era, responding to an unprecedented great calamity like the Primordial Sin black hole, all Present Era Tribulation Response individuals would undoubtedly be guarded with everything the Three Thousand Great Daos had. Gu Qingfeng suspected that the unfathomable blessing within Monk Bu’er’s body was precisely for this purpose.
“I’ll say it one more time. Be sensible and leave immediately. I’m telling you, if my master comes, you won’t be able to leave even if you want to!”
“Oh-ho.”
Gu Qingfeng asked with keen interest, “Your master is here too?”
“Of course!
My master is not someone to be trifled with. If he knows you’ve trespassed here, he’ll definitely chop you into eight pieces!”
“Tell me, who is your master?”
“You’ll be scared to death when I say it!”
“Then say it and scare me to death.”
“Then listen well. My master is the great, famous Living Buddha of the Heavens—Da Xing the Mad Monk!”
Pfft!
Hearing the name ‘Da Xing the Mad Monk’, Gu Qingfeng, who had been drinking, spat out the wine in his mouth. He asked with great suspicion, “You said who? Say it again?”
“My master is the great, famous Living Buddha of the Heavens! Da! Xing! The! Mad! Monk!”
This time, Gu Qingfeng heard it clearly. “Your master is actually Da Xing the Mad Monk?”
“That’s right! How about it? Scared now?”
“Ahahahahaha!”
Gu Qingfeng could no longer contain himself. He threw his head back and roared with laughter, as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world. He laughed while pounding his chest, kicking his legs, and rolling about, utterly maniacal.
Who was Da Xing the Mad Monk?
Throughout the Great Wilds, even across the myriad realms of the heavens, there was probably no one who didn’t know this name.
He wandered the myriad realms year-round, healing the sick and aiding the poor, spreading boundless compassion and promoting Buddhist teachings, delivering all living beings. He was known as the Living Buddha. Because he was eccentric and loved wine and meat, he was also called Da Xing the Mad Monk, holding extremely high prestige in the Great Wilds.
Even more astonishing was that Da Xing the Mad Monk possessed boundless dharma power, especially the tattered fan in his hand, said to have been bestowed by the Ancient Buddha Lamp-Lighting Patriarch. With just a gentle wave, regardless of whether you were a demon king, a devil king, a golden-body arhat, or an immortal lord or king, you would all be reduced to ashes.
No one knew exactly how long Da Xing the Mad Monk had cultivated. It was only known that whether it was great powers from the Ancient Era, the Remote Ancient Era, or even the Primeval Era, they all seemed to know Da Xing the Mad Monk. Throughout heaven and earth, past and present, there seemed to be no existence who didn’t know him, and all would give him some face.
In Monk Bu’er’s mind, even if this mysterious mortal before him was an ancient great power, he couldn’t possibly not know his master. And upon hearing his master’s name, even if he wasn’t afraid, he would surely be wary; even if not wary, he absolutely wouldn’t dare act recklessly.
But he never expected that after mentioning his master’s name, not only was this fellow not wary or afraid, he actually burst into unrestrained laughter.
“I can’t… I can’t take it…
This is just too damned hilarious!”
Gu Qingfeng hadn’t laughed so heartily in a long time, and for a moment, he truly couldn’t handle it. His stomach ached from laughing. Looking at Monk Bu’er, who stood bewildered in mid-air, Gu Qingfeng asked, “Is your master here now? Haha? Is he here?”
“My… my master is resting here.”
Gu Qingfeng’s bizarre behavior thoroughly baffled Monk Bu’er. Frowning, he stared intently at Gu Qingfeng, feeling more and more that this guy was far too mysterious and strange.
“Go! Drag your master over here for me. Forget it! I’ll do it myself.”
Gu Qingfeng stood up, cleared his throat, and bellowed loudly, “Da Xing, you old turtle! Get your ass out here! Get out here—” Gu Qingfeng’s shout was incredibly powerful. Not only did it shake Monk Bu’er’s blood and qi into turmoil, it also caused blood to flow from his seven orifices, sending him plummeting from the sky. Only then did he truly understand Gu Qingfeng’s terror.
“Da Xing! Get out here! Your old man is here! Come kneel in worship!”
Boom! Crash!
The entire ancient ruin shook violently, trembling as if in an earthquake.