"The Buddhist Eye of Wisdom is truly formidable. One has to admit it."
Between heaven and earth, there was originally no sin, and so it was with the Great Dao.
All sin originates from karmic sin.
Causality was something the Buddhist sect concocted, and karmic sin was the same.
Gu Qingfeng wasn't particularly surprised that the monk in the temple could see the karmic sin upon him. He merely smiled and said,
"Those are all old, rotten matters from the past. I've long since mended my ways." Suddenly—
Boom!—
The temple cave-dwelling trembled violently.
Gu Qingfeng's eyes swept around. "That Evil Demon is about to emerge. When it comes out, it will definitely seek revenge on you, and it will absolutely seize the Prajna Sutra in your hands. Rather than letting that thing fall into the Evil Demon's grasp, you might as well give it to me."
"Although that Evil Demon is also a bearer of karmic sin, compared to the Benefactor, its sin is insignificant, not worth mentioning. This humble monk would rather give the Lesser Prajna Sutra to that Evil Demon than let it fall into the Benefactor's hands!"
The temple monk's words left Gu Qingfeng utterly speechless.
"Amitabha. I implore the Benefactor to return whence you came and not set your sights on the Lesser Prajna Sutra. If the Benefactor insists, this humble monk would rather be a shattered piece of jade than an intact tile."
Gu Qingfeng frowned, pondering.
He had long seen that the old monk had this intention, which was why he hadn't forcibly snatched it. He feared that if the attempt failed, the old monk might destroy the Lesser Prajna Sutra. That thing was a treasure, a scripture counted among the finest in the Buddhist sect.
Just as he was contemplating, he suddenly detected movement outside. Probing, it seemed several people were trying to find a way in.
He clearly understood that Buddhist practitioners always emphasized causality, opportunity, and destiny, and their actions were always meticulous. The old monk was now at the end of his rope, with the Lesser Prajna Sutra in hand. The Evil Demon was breaking the seal, yet the old monk paid it no mind. He was likely waiting for someone with a karmic connection to Buddhism to take over the Lesser Prajna Sutra. He just didn't know upon whom such great fortune would fall.
At that moment.
A figure flickered into appearance.
It was a man in a cyan robe.
The man's appearance was ordinary, his bearing not outstanding either. His eyes held a hint of depth, neither arrogant nor haughty, but rather a kind of detachment—the detachment of one who had experienced the world.
The cyan-robed man appeared before the main gate of Xiaoye Temple. Suddenly seeing Gu Qingfeng, his expression stiffened slightly, showing extreme surprise. He stared at Gu Qingfeng, scrutinizing him carefully, but the more he looked, the deeper his frown became, his expression growing increasingly complex, his gaze more and more doubtful.
He was looking at Gu Qingfeng, and Gu Qingfeng was also sizing him up.
With just a glance, Gu Qingfeng knew this cyan-robed man was a reincarnated person.
All reincarnated souls were unique because during reincarnation, the soul inevitably passed through the Wheel of Reincarnation. Once entering the Wheel, the soul would be baptized, acquiring a unique turbid aura. This turbid aura originated from the soul and could not be concealed, even after reincarnation.
Reincarnation used to be synonymous with sin.
Because only sinners, to escape judgment, would risk reincarnation.
However, when the Great Calamity of the Heavens occurred, the Gate of Reincarnation was opened by someone unknown. How many had reincarnated was impossible to say.
"I am Wan Huaiyu. May I ask your esteemed name..." The cyan-robed man, Wan Huaiyu, frowned deeply, neither subservient nor arrogant, neither proud nor impatient.
"My surname is Gu."
Gu Qingfeng replied indifferently.
Surname Gu?
Wan Huaiyu didn't understand.
At that moment, a light, laughing voice came from outside.
"Brother Wan's methods grow ever more profound and unfathomable."
In response appeared a youth.
The youth wore white robes, a bamboo flute hanging at his waist. His bearing was like the wind, his temples streaked with white. When he appeared, he wore a smile, but upon seeing Gu Qingfeng, like Wan Huaiyu, he was utterly astonished.
Another reincarnated person.
Gu Qingfeng wasn't surprised by this. He even knew that the number of reincarnated people within the Black-Raven Secret Realm was definitely not less than ten.
Suddenly.
Boom!
A tremendous roar.
The temple trembled violently once more.
Gu Qingfeng's brow raised slightly. He knew this was the suppressed Evil Demon breaking the seal. His divine sense had always enveloped the entire Black-Raven Secret Realm; he was aware of every single movement within, naturally including the Evil Demon's situation.
However, what puzzled him slightly was that just now, he discovered the Evil Demon, while breaking the seal, seemed to be employing other methods as well. He didn't know what technique the Evil Demon was using in one of the cave-dwellings, but that cave-dwelling suddenly erupted with a strange spiritual aura.
To be precise, a rather evil spiritual aura.
Gu Qingfeng carefully probed this evil spiritual aura and immediately became interested. Glancing at Xiaoye Temple, he instantly vanished in a flash.
Before the main gate of Xiaoye Temple.
Wan Huaiyu and the white-templed youth stared in the direction Gu Qingfeng had disappeared, their expressions filled with confusion.
"Brother Wan, who was that person just now?"
The youth said gravely, "He seemed to only have the aura of the Purple Mansion level. Why would he appear here? Even the two of us exhausted great effort to find this place. How did he get in?"
Wan Huaiyu shook his head. He wanted to know this question too. After a moment of thought, he said, "He has no turbid aura—neither reincarnated nor body-possessed. He has no pure aura either—neither one born of fortune nor one born of calamity."
"Perhaps great fortune? Or perhaps a person of great opportunity?"
Wan Huaiyu shook his head again. As a reincarnated person, although he resided within the Nine-Hua Alliance, he had always lived in seclusion, never concerned himself with the affairs of the Four Regions, and usually associated only with others like himself—reincarnated people.
He was like this, and so was the white-templed youth. The youth looked at Xiaoye Temple and sighed, "It seems we've been in closed-door cultivation for too long... We should learn more after emerging this time. After the Great Calamity, strange people truly grow more numerous."
Wan Huaiyu deeply agreed.
Since reincarnating and regaining consciousness, he had spent much time in closed-door cultivation. Each time he emerged, he would encounter some unbelievable events. All sorts of precious physiques and bloodlines emerged endlessly; all kinds of opportunities and fortunes dazzled them. After ten years in seclusion, emerging felt like several millennia had passed. The novel people and events left them quite unsettled.
Besides that strange white-robed man just now, earlier in an ancient pagoda, he had also encountered an odd monk—one who liked to eat meat, a monk he couldn't see through. That monk, like the white-robed man just now, had low cultivation, but both carried an indescribable, inexplicable peculiarity.
"Hmph, damn it! Finally got in... Not easy!"
A cursing voice sounded as a figure flashed into appearance.
It was a bald monk, wearing a dirty kasaya, holding a roasted chicken leg in his hands, with two large hammers hanging at his waist.