On one occasion, the Celestial Dragon Temple ?? held a grand event, gathering many people to perform salvation rituals for the unjustly deceased or unsalvaged souls across the entire region surrounding the small city. A huge crowd came, and Duan Zheng's family also attended. Out of curiosity, Noe went along to the Celestial Dragon Temple. Here, Noe met Han Chang ????? and a group of his friends. Noe saw the monks chasing Han Chang away and found it strange, so he approached and asked:
Noe ??: "Acquaintance, are you well lately?"
Han Chang ?????: "Oh, the Prophet Noe!"
Noe ??: "Where are you going, my friend?"
Han Chang smiled and replied:
Han Chang ?????: "You are too polite, Sir. I am on a mission. Our sect required a group of at least five Mortal Immortals (Phàm Tiên) to assist the Abbot of the Celestial Dragon Temple, as he reported that evil demons would attack the Temple tonight ??, but the Master chased us away as soon as they saw us. I don't know why."
Noe looked at Han Chang’s group and was immediately impressed by the White Tiger Beastman ??—tiger head, human body, extremely tall and robust. The second person who impressed Noe was a masked individual with a faint malevolent aura surrounding him. Noe suspected he belonged to a wicked sect, so he opened his Merit Eye (C?ng ??c Chi Nh?n) to check and found their merits were all quite high, so he dismissed his suspicion.
Noe, familiar with the area, led them to a tea house to meet the rest of the group and asked Duan Zheng to arrange lodging near the Celestial Dragon Temple. They introduced themselves to Noe:
- The man in yellow named Tu Zhong Sha ??, from the Empress Earth Undying Sect.
- The man in blue was Han Chang ??, from the Profound Ice Faction.
- The White Tiger Beastman, abbreviated as White Tiger ??, belonged to no sect.
- The man in red was a Mortal Immortal named Huo Ming ??, from the Crimson Flame Nine Suns Sect.
- Finally, the masked man with a faint malevolent aura was Wang Chen ?, belonging to the Black Heaven Sect (H?c Thiên T?ng).
A few nights later, when the mountain surrounding the Celestial Dragon Temple became deserted, everyone had left, and the masters had gone to sleep. The Temple was so silent that the sound of a falling leaf could be heard clearly. As the night deepened, a dreadful cold ?? swept in from outside along with chilling, bone-piercing gusts of wind. Accompanying high-pitched, wailing sounds seemingly echoing from the heavens, dark shadows suddenly appeared right outside the Temple gate. Following that were the fierce roars of demonic beasts (ma thú), their entire bodies shrouded in black smoke, crashing against the temple gate ?m ?m, yet no one woke up; they seemed to be in a trance. They slept unusually soundly. The gate was slowly breached, and they surged into the courtyard where 18 bronze statues of the Iron Copper Man (Thi?t ??ng Nhan) stood.
Inside was the incredibly handsome young Abbot ?????, despite being over 60 years old. Young women screamed whenever they saw the Abbot pass by. But now, in the dimly lit scene of the sudden downpour ???, this monk was a fierce, extremely dangerous individual, completely different from his saintly appearance during the day. He was Abbot Ci Xin (T? Tam Hòa Th??ng).
Ci Xin raised his Dharma Staff (Pháp tr??ng) and slammed it onto the ground, shaking the Staff to create sound, while chanting an incantation. The formation symbols on the bodies of the 18 Copper Men immediately lit up ?. The Copper Men statues slowly stirred, began to walk, and gathered, forming the Eighteen Arhat Copper Man Array (Th?p Bát La Hán ??ng Nhan), coordinating to fight against hundreds of large and small demonic beasts. Right behind the Temple gate, a golden glowing circle formation appeared beneath the feet of the 18 Copper Men.
The battle was completely skewed toward the demonic beasts due to their overwhelming numbers. However, the Iron Copper Men stood within the large array on the ground, so even when struck down repeatedly, they rose again. Ci Xin had prepared many Yellow Talismans shaped like lightning and Red Talismans shaped like fire. As soon as a demonic beast passed the Copper Men, 2-3 talismans were immediately stuck onto its body, exploding ?? or electrocuting it.
But everything has its limit. Abbot Ci Xin collapsed onto the ground, his body nearly paralyzed from energy depletion, but not dead yet. At this moment, the young monks awoke, saw the commotion, and ran out to support and prevent the demonic beasts from attacking Abbot Ci Xin.
The Red Demonesses ?? and Black Demonesses ?? bypassed the Temple’s energy shield, which was specialized in blocking devils from entering but was useless against demonic beasts—living creatures full of malevolent energy controlled by devils. The Demonesses ignored the young monks, merely intimidating and pushing them aside, all focusing on Abbot Ci Xin, infusing him with a massive amount of Malevolent Energy (Ma khí) to poison and kill the Abbot.
At that moment, Han Chang’s group ran up the mountain, attacking the demonic beasts and driving away the Demonesses. Wang Chen, however, captured the demons, sucking all the Malevolent Energy into his own body without any ill effects, becoming stronger and faster. He was the one who ran ahead, reaching the Celestial Dragon Temple the fastest. Seeing the Abbot covered in malevolent energy, he used his Great Malevolent Absorption Technique (C?ng pháp H?p tà ??i pháp) to suck all the Malevolent Energy out of the Abbot, saving his life.
Immediately afterward, White Tiger ??, the tiger-headed Beastman with a body of pure Yang energy, let out a shout full of Yang Energy ??, dispersing the Malevolent Energy in the bodies of the demonic beasts, helping them regain consciousness and return to being ordinary wild beasts, losing their red eyes. Once fully awake, they fled the Celestial Dragon Temple. The others followed, including Noe and Duan Zheng. Noe had anticipated the event, so he arrived in time.
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By morning, when all the Buddhist masters awoke, they saw a battlefield ?? in the Temple courtyard, littered with blood and flesh. Everyone sat in a corner, breathing heavily from exhaustion. Abbot Ci Xin was extremely grateful, as only Wang Chen’s absorption of the malevolent energy had saved his life. That day, the Celestial Dragon Temple was bustling, hosting a vegetarian feast in appreciation, and then writing a letter to Han Chang, considering the mission accomplished. Han Chang immediately returned to report the situation to his master.
The monks took turns apologizing to Wang Chen for judging his outwardly malevolent appearance and refusing to let him stay at the Temple. Then they apologized to White Tiger for their apprehension and disdain toward a sectless Beastman like him, though he was the one who contributed the most to driving away the demonic beasts. Hearing this, the city residents loved both of them, calling them the "Twin Generals Subduing Demons" ??.
The people also heard an old story about the war between the Celestial Dragon (Thiên Long) and the Demon Dragon (Ma Long). The Demon Dragon was defeated and buried nearby, and the Celestial Dragon Temple was built to commemorate that battle. The Celestial Dragon Temple was built like nails driven into the ground to suppress the Malevolent Energy escaping from the Demon Dragon. But periodically, every few years, this Malevolent Energy would escape, infiltrating wild animals and the local devils. At the right time, they would attack the Temple. The Temple was the shield for the people of the small city; without it, the beasts would attack the citizens.
The citizens believed the story even more and offered more money. The number of visitors to the Temple grew even larger; everyone was respectful and grateful to the Temple for its sacrifice and protection over the years. Duan Zheng, as the City Lord, represented all the people in the city to present gifts of thanks and organize an event in the small city, encouraging everyone to visit the Celestial Dragon Temple more often. One of the most enthusiastic people was Duan Zheng's mother.
At this moment, the demonesses had run behind the mountain, hiding in a cave and wailing mournfully ??, because they had almost killed the unfaithful Abbot Ci Xin, the man who had taken advantage of innocent, naive, and trusting young women who believed in this virtuous yet extremely handsome Abbot. They were enraged because after multiple nights of intimacy and lovemaking, when they wanted to publicize their relationship, he lured them behind the mountain and pushed them into the abyss.
Many girls shared the same fate; others kept silent, gave birth, and lived in a nearby nunnery, completely obeying his every command, treating him like a god. That nunnery became Ci Xin's secret harem, with many children labeled as adopted orphans, while the angry souls periodically attacked the Temple whenever they grew strong enough.
Noe ??, seeing everyone praising the Abbot, also went to chat and get acquainted, especially since Duan Zheng ?? was his disciple. However, when he returned home, reviewing the Celestial Record ??, he was completely surprised ?? that this seemingly respectable and handsome Abbot was a man who had committed many sins, hiding behind a perfect, flawless facade. He could not have imagined that such a saintly appearance concealed such a wicked and cunning nature.
The Celestial Record ??
Date Log: [Current Date]
Event: Noe explores the branches of Divine Cultivation. A surprise battle takes place at the Celestial Dragon Temple, revealing the secret of Abbot Ci Xin and the demonesses.
Impact: A lesson on "judging people" is given: good and evil do not lie in appearance or reputation, but in inner nature. The concepts of good and evil become more complex and multi-layered.
- Merit Update
The Celestial Record has collected and analyzed the notable Merit currents in this chapter. Noe possesses the ability to use the "Eye of Merit" to view others’ and his own Merit.
- Character File Update
The Celestial Record has collected new data and updated the character files.
- Analysis of Demon and Ghost Power
- Demonesses ??: The Red Demonesses and the newly born ghosts ?? in the graveyard have reached Level B - Red after accumulating resentment. This power allowed them to launch a direct attack and infuse malevolent energy into Abbot Ci Xin.
- Demonic Beasts ??: The dark shadows attacking the Celestial Dragon Temple, with their entire bodies shrouded in black smoke, indicate they belong to Level C - Black.