"It's not the wind that moves, nor the flag, it's the human heart that moves..."

The mad monk mumbled these words, his figure swaying slightly, as his brows knitted together.

Then, he stopped, holding his meditation staff, and raised one hand in front of him, reciting the Rebirth Mantra.

"Namo Amituofo, Tathagata, he who comes and goes..."

The indifferent sound of Sanskrit chanting began, adding a heavy atmosphere to the eerie inn.

The innkeeper couldn't comprehend at first, then awkwardly turned his neck and said:

"Old monk, why are you reciting the Rebirth Mantra?"

"To transcend you, of course."

Saying that, in front of everyone, the mad monk struck the innkeeper's crown with his palm!

Bang!

The sound of cracking made fractures appear where the palm struck, and the innkeeper's body deflated like a punctured shell.

The two Taoists watching from not far away were filled with dread, chanting in unison, "Blessings of Infinite Heavenly Venerable."

The innkeeper's blood splattered onto Duan Lang's face, and the True Martial Taoist was startled by the sudden event.

It was the first time he had seen such a character, and he was completely shocked into stillness.

He didn't even have time to rejoice in the kill, unable to react, he muttered, "Didn't the old monk say... to spare his life?"

The mad monk kicked the innkeeper's body, "He irritated me, so I just killed him with a single palm."

"Just like that, breaking the vow of non-killing, are you mad, old monk?" Duan Lang couldn't hide his shock.

"You discovered it, I can't let you go." The mad monk aimed a palm at Duan Lang's crown.

With a bang.

The True Martial Taoist's head tilted, blood flowing from the top of his head, dead.

The moves were swift, and the killings straightforward and clean; the two Taoists kept chanting "Blessings of Infinite Heavenly Venerable", while Yin Weiyin's eyelid twitched, gripping Chen Yi's sleeve even tighter.

Even if she could guess that among the martial artists connected to Chen Yi, there were those with eccentric temperaments, she didn't expect the mad monk to be so capricious and unpredictable.

The mad monk recited spells, seemingly extracting Duan Lang's Lesser Yin Spirit, then walked towards the female martial artist Wang Yan.

Undoubtedly, he was calling back Wang Yan's soul, bringing the female martial artist back to life.

"Girl, arise."

This act of killing the husband to save the wife would leave ordinary people baffled.

But the mad monk, in his madness, had his own ideas.

Chen Yi, disliking the trouble here, unwilling to get involved, said to Yin Weiyin:

"Let's go up."

The female crown also disliked the bloody smell everywhere, so she grasped Chen Yi's sleeve and slowly followed him back to their room.

Back in the guest room, Yin Weiyin wrapped her robe around her and slowly sat down, her demeanor composed. At this moment, she looked sideways, her gaze fixed on the empty space, with slightly furrowed brows, pondering something unspoken.

After a while, she suddenly said:

"Why does the monk kill?"

Chen Yi, hearing her sudden question, replied without thinking:

"He has his own reasoning. Killing the Taoist to save the female warrior is only natural in his eyes. In his view, of the three kinds of people he detests most, one is the heartless."

Yin Weiyin snuck a glance at Chen Yi.

Chen Yi suddenly asked in return:

"Am I heartless?"

The female crown flinched, naturally not daring to say he was heartless.

The reason she took that glance was because this person provoked various women, but if one thought about it, if Chen Yi truly were cold and heartless, she probably would have died in the underground palace long ago.

"Affectionate" and "heartless" often appeared together; however, on Chen Yi, it seemed only the former was present.

As for the dead True Martial Taoist, he embodied only the latter.

Thinking of how Chen Yi was deeply affectionate with other women, Yin Weiyin couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Chen Yi glanced out the window, pondering if Min Ning were here today, would he stop the mad monk from killing the True Martial Taoist.

Yin Weiyin seemed to sense something and asked softly, "What... what are you thinking?"

"I was thinking if Min Ning were here, would he stop the mad monk, given that the True Martial Taoist had done many good deeds slaying demons and monsters."

Yin Weiyin was startled, then said, "You, being with me in the same room, thinking of Min Ning?"

Perhaps her cultivation wasn't deep enough, she inexplicably felt some resentment.

Chen Yi curled his lips into a smile and retorted, "Can't I?"

With this rejoinder, Yin Weiyin was somewhat apprehensive, not daring to speak boldly, her brows showing more worry. Even if he didn't say it outright, the female crown more or less felt that he harbored many thoughts about her and Min Ning.

Or perhaps like snuggling with Tingxue, alternating between sides...

For some reason, Yin Weiyin's mind momentarily flashed with many amorous thoughts, her cheeks slightly flushed, forcing her to silently recite the Supreme Forget Love Technique.

She hummed softly, then said coldly:

"If I had supreme cultivation, I would have killed all the demons in this ghost town, far surpassing Min Ning."

These words weren't false; just as in the underground palace, she thought if she attained the Dao and became immortal, she would repay Chen Yi accordingly.

Seeing her demeanor, Chen Yi couldn't help but laugh:

"The Immortal is jealous?"

Yin Weiyin was about to deny it, but her eyes flickered; instead, she said:

"So what if I am? Why should we cultivators hide our true thoughts?"

"Aren't you afraid I won't like you being jealous?"

"If you don't like it, I'll still be jealous." The female crown said clearly.

Her words carried a trace of the fortitude of the Taichua Goddess.

Chen Yi laughed even more heartily.

Seeing his expression unfiltered, Yin Weiyin secretly sneered,

His Heart Lake was so easily stirred; once time passed, he might no longer guard his heart against her.

By then, with her plans and his unwitting nature, what could he do?

Chen Yi looked out the window again, seeing the female martial artist Wang Yan was tidying her husband's body, he said:

"This True Martial Taoist, with just one of his own Three Souls and Seven Spirits, could save others, but he feared it would hinder his path to immortality, unwilling to pay such a price. From his subconscious statement that the monk was mad, it was apparent."

He spoke inadvertently, but Yin Weiyin felt as if he were hinting, feeling discontent for a moment.

Yet Chen Yi continued, seemingly stirred:

"Besides immortality, secondly, he was concerned his wife was tainted; the former was significant, the latter just an excuse."

He likened himself to the pitied wife and the female crown to the heartless husband.

Yin Weiyin originally wanted to retort that a dog doesn't despise its home, but ultimately lacked the courage; if she said so, and Chen Yi made her bark at night, what would she do?

But she felt discontent, with no words to express, and sighed softly:

"...I'm not that kind of person."

Chen Yi playfully "oh'ed": "In what way not?"

If it were the little fox, she'd certainly know how to respond and how to please Chen Yi simultaneously.

However, Yin Weiyin wasn't adept at responding to this dilemma. If she said she was willing to abandon the path to immortality for someone, it would obviously be a lie, undisguisable to Chen Yi. But speaking of walking the path of immortality alone was even less permissible.

After a long pause, the female crown had no choice but to say:

"You have so many women, yet I don't dislike you for being 'unclean'."

.........

.........

A few days ago,

It was said that Dong Guifei's paper figure encountered a mysterious martial artist at the Lookout.

The real being was linked to the paper figure, a matter naturally known to Dong Guifei.

However, her visit to Dizang Temple today wasn't for that reason.

Rather, it was for Chen Yi.

Nonetheless, she didn't yet know Chen Yi's background, nor was she aware that Chen Yi was the mysterious martial artist.

In the Underworld, there were few Taoist temples, but numerous Buddhist temples.

Because within the Buddhist Sect, the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva vowed not to become a Buddha until hell was empty; the Taoist sect did not have such deities.

The long petals of the Red Spider Lily stretched into an ocean, swaying with the eerie wind, complementing the golden Buddha statue in the Dizang Temple. Dong Guifei didn't know whether after cultivating the golden Buddha statue, seeing the Red Spider Lily again, she would see a white lotus or still the Red Spider Lily.

Within the Daxiong Hall sat monks draped in kasaya.

All the monks were skeletons.

Even with years of hair-shorn ascetic practice, Dong Guifei had never encountered such a scene.

She clasped her hands together, chanting a phrase in Korean, "Namo Amitabha Buddha."

Outside the Daxiong Hall, a figure slowly approached.

Having shed three thousand worries, looking like a tonsured monk, yet garbed in the official attire of the Underworld.

Dong Guifei slightly tilted her head, greeted politely:

"My wish is to the mage, the humble nun Jueyin pays her respects."

"I no longer believe in any Buddhist law, so why call me mage? Now in official attire, you may address me as Gongcao."

As the monk-like figure spoke, he stepped forward a few paces, bent down, and began tidying the kasaya on the skeletons, smoothing the wrinkles with utmost care.

As he tidied, seeing her nearly floor-length bound hair, he asked:

"You become a nun yet practice with your hair; is this the norm in Korean temples?"

Dong Guifei responded blandly:

"The humble nun hails from Huangyue Temple as a vinaya master practicing precepts, the temple's lineage traces back to the Shenxiu branch of the Zen School in central China. By rules, one should be tonsured upon ordination, but as I descend from a former royal family, it's unsuitable to undertake tonsure."

Gongcao's movements slowed, seemingly recalling the origins of Huangyue Temple. The Chinese Zen Buddhism divided into two branches, the Southern under Huineng, with Shaolin as its renowned temple, and the Northern under Shenxiu, having weakened over centuries, eventually spreading north to Korea.

"So it is from the Shenxiu school, no wonder you want to kill Dijian." Gongcao picked a loose thread from the kasaya, his tone filled with disdain, "Killing for sect matters, your cultivation is lacking."

The numerous Buddhist sects, far outnumbering the Taoists, were rife with sect conflicts. Dong Guifei allegedly killed Dijian, who hailed from the Tiantai Sect. In Korea, Tiantai and Zen stand as two major sects... Despite the complexities, Gongcao thought it an insignificant matter, disregarding it even when he still practiced Buddhism.

"The matters between me and Dijian extend beyond sect conflicts, involving Huangyue Temple affairs not convenient to disclose."

Despite Gongcao's contempt, Dong Guifei's expression remained serene:

"Yet Gongcao, despite professing not to believe in Buddhism, inquires about Korean temples, seemingly still connected to Buddhism."

Gongcao's eyes briefly flared with fury, but he contained it, speaking coldly:

"How do you see my connection to Buddhism?"

Dong Guifei pointed at the skeletal monks crafted from bones:

"If not connected to Buddhism, why gather these bones to form such a display?"

The skeletal monks posed in a manner as if bowing to study the Buddhist scriptures.

"They are not chanting,"

Gongcao chuckled, slowly stating:

"I make them kneel here in repentance."

Dong Guifei raised her head in puzzlement, only to see Gongcao pointing towards the Buddha statue's hands.

Amidst the flickering candlelight, Dong Guifei hadn't noticed earlier; now she saw, it held a small doll.

Unlike dolls used for necromancy, it resembled a toy for a four or five-year-old child.

On retracting her gaze, Dong Guifei inadvertently glanced at the array of skeletons, and was suddenly shocked.

Within each skeletal figure, monks' souls were trapped, their eyes wide, emaciated and tormented!

"They were all eloquent high monks from Putuo Temple,"

With a smile, Gongcao's expression grew fierce, dark murderous intent permeating the air,

"yet they harmed my child; no matter what revered monk they were, they must kneel here and atone."

Dong Guifei stood in silent contemplation.

After some time, the murderous aura gradually receded, and Gongcao turned to ask:

"What brings you to visit today?"

"I've heard Gongcao has seen half of the life and death register, so today I wish to inquire about someone's matter."

Dong Guifei clasped her hands together, weighing the implications of the matter,

"This person by the surname Chen, named Yi, serves as Zige Bureau Minister, and might have a karmic connection with Huangyue Temple in the future."

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