Chapter 15: Collect the Buddhist Beads? No, Smash the Statue of the Tathagata!

“Amitabha!”

Before Ling’er could lead the others away, a solemn chanting echoed through the temple.

Everyone turned to see a small monk, his lips red, teeth white, and skin tender and translucent, reciting the Buddha’s name like a seasoned monk as he slowly approached.

“Dear benefactors, do you wish to become monks?”

“What kind of heretical temple is this? How dare it lure children to become monks on the sacred soil of the Great Tang! Despicable!” Ling’er’s voice brimmed with anger. The current national policy of the Great Tang encouraged having many children and planting many trees. Monks and Taoists were expected to cultivate themselves, but they also occupied tax-paying farmland, making them a thorn in the government’s side.

Every year, considerable silver was spent urging monks to return to secular life or destroying temples. The little monk before them looked no older than eleven or twelve, a fortunate catch for Ling’er.

“Benefactors, this is a good temple, dedicated to the Buddha, not some heretical place!” The little monk’s innocent eyes stared wide as he tried to explain. But Ling’er had no patience to argue with a child. She crouched down and gently rubbed his shining bald head.

“Little monk, where are the elders of your temple? The abbot? Is no one else here?”

“I am the abbot,” the child said, blinking his large, adorable eyes. “Really, I am the abbot. Don’t judge me by my size—I have already helped many people become monks! Don’t believe me? I’ll call them to prove it.”

“Hui Guang! Hui Tong!” The little monk called out behind him.

All eyes followed, and two middle-aged monks appeared, chanting unfamiliar sutras as they approached. There was a trace of fear in their eyes.

Wait—fear? Of the little monk?

“Abbot, what business do you have with us? Another ordination?”

“Yes! But they don’t believe me because I’m so young. I called you so you can prove it,” the little monk said, shaking his shining head and pointing at Tang Yu and the others. “Tell them, did I help you become monks? Did I ordain you?”

“Indeed, he is our temple’s abbot,” said Monk Hui Guang, performing a rather clumsy Buddhist gesture, his tone peculiar.

“Though young, our little abbot is quite learned in the Dharma. Whenever he recites the sutras, we all eagerly request ordination under him. Our abbot is well-versed in the Buddha’s teachings. If you four benefactors don’t believe us, you can visit other temples.”

Ling’er and her companions exchanged glances. The subtle implication was clear: they wanted them to leave quickly! They even warned not to listen to the little monk’s chants.

So, the real oddity in this temple was not anyone else but the little monk before them?

Ling’er subtly gestured to the others to remain alert.

“Little abbot, don’t take offense. It’s just that I’m inexperienced. But I want to ask: why do you ordain them? Don’t they have families, parents, children?”

“Huh?” The little monk blinked stupidly. “Isn’t it everyone’s duty to serve the Buddha? They’re laborers from the mountainside. It’s for their own good that I bring them into the temple to devote themselves to the Buddha.”

“And what about their families?” Ling’er pressed on.

“They can also come to the temple to serve the Buddha. Our master says everyone has Buddha nature, and by overcoming hardships, one can become Buddha. I’m helping them become Buddhas and cultivate for the next life.”

Ling’er stood up without further questioning. Clearly, the little monk was deeply poisoned—poisoned by a doctrine called Buddhism!

Haoyun, hidden high in the treetops, had no intention of warning his disciple. In the world of wandering martial artists, one must recognize that the old and the young are the most dangerous.

This, then, would be a lesson for his disciple’s initiation.

“Hmph, Buddha saves all living beings? Then I shall save Buddha!”

Rarely, Ling’er’s usually gentle voice thundered with authority. The power of Nüwa surged wildly within her, revealing her true Nüwa form for the first time before anyone but Haoyun.

“Snake… snake demon?” Lin Yue Ru blurted, staring at her best friend’s new form.

Anu gave her a sharp rap on the head. “Can you not speak nonsense? Don’t you know my princess’s true nature? This is the true form of Nüwa—the mark of a Nüwa descendant!”

“Uh…” Lin Yue Ru looked at Anu with a hint of grievance. “You could have just explained, no need to hit… I’m already slow, keep hitting me and I’ll cling to you in stupidity!”

In midair, Ling’er’s snake tail whipped about, leaving mysterious traces. A blue spiritual pearl glowed at her brow, and countless forces of nature converged into her body.

“Nüwa State: Immortal Technique—Heaven’s Collapse, Earth’s Shatter!”

“Boom!”

Supported by the power of Nüwa, an earth elemental spell erupted fully. Above the Jade Buddha Temple, a colossal earthen mountain appeared briefly suspended in the sky before crashing down with a thunderous roar.

“My temple!”

The little monk wailed, stretching out his hands to save his home, but human power was no match. With nature’s full might behind it, the Jade Buddha Temple crumbled violently.

“Wuwu… my temple… the temple where I accumulated merit… wuwu…” The little monk knelt on the ground, clutching fallen tiles and bricks, tears streaming down his face.

Tang Yu felt a pang of pity and stepped forward to comfort him, but the boy suddenly stood, glaring fiercely at the four.

“You are all villains! I only wished to guide you to cultivation and accumulate merit to achieve enlightenment, yet you destroyed the very place I depend on! Villains!”

“I will show you that Buddha not only teaches kindness but also wields the wrath of Vajra!”

The little monk’s foolish innocence vanished completely. His small frame swelled rapidly until, in less than a blink, he became a giant towering hundreds of meters tall.

“Buddha says: I too have fire!”

A massive golden hand extended from the giant, blotting out the sky. Controlled by the little monk, it slammed down mercilessly.

“So you’re the demon monk forcibly trying to convert people into Buddhists! Hmph! Yue Ru, Anu, protect the people. Today I will shatter their Tathagata!”

“Nüwa State: Immortal Technique—Mighty Thunder!”

“Nüwa State: Immortal Technique—Raging Waves!”

“Nüwa State: Immortal Technique—Hurricane Assault!”...

Ling’er didn’t wait for the Buddha’s hand to land. In her Nüwa true form, her casting speed increased more than tenfold. In just one second, she unleashed over ten of the highest-level spells from the Five Elements Immortal Techniques.

With the little monk enlarged, there was no way to evade. In a short time, he endured relentless assaults of wind, rain, lightning, waves, and ice.

After the barrage, the giant Buddha’s body was pulverized by Ling’er’s immortal spells. The little monk collapsed weakly, exhausted and unable to continue the fight.

From afar, Haoyun rubbed his beard with satisfaction but muttered disdainfully:

“The speed of casting immortal spells is still too slow. Ten years of teaching only yielded the Five Elements Immortal Techniques—too poor a talent…”