This situation is not unfamiliar to him; he had encountered it before when he first entered the Heart Demon Sword Prison.

But the difference is, the Heart Demon Sword Prison seems far inferior to this place.

And at that moment, a voice came from deep within the Zen Sect.

"Novice Monk, the hour has arrived, shouldn't you be sunning the Shell Leaf Scriptures?"

Song Yan quickly scanned his surroundings and slightly raised his hands.

Now, he wore no blood-stained clothes, bore no wounds, only a gray robe remained.

He acknowledged the voice, then stepped into the temple.

Beside the temple was a pond, and as he walked along its edge and caught a glimpse in its reflection, he saw the image of a handsome, lustful-eyed, red-lipped, seductive strong monk in gray robes.

A monk of this appearance could only be a Demon Monk!

At this moment, Song Yan had some realization in his heart.

Most of his Divine Thought Power actually came from the "Four Truths Demon Monk," yet according to reason, the "Four Truths Demon Monk" should be complete and should have evolved into a life of the Rotting Thought Layer like the Nine-Child Demon Mother, yet it remained stagnant. No matter how Song Yan pondered it, he could not advance further.

He had once thought the opportunity to further advance the "Four Truths Demon Monk" might lie within the Sea of Suffering, but... he never imagined he'd arrive at the "ancient temple possibly holding the key" in such a manner.

He seemed to be quite familiar with this temple, walking over moss-covered steps, stepping through the half-open cloud door into the Library Pavilion, carefully retrieving the Shell Leaf Scriptures, then placing them gently on the ground in front of the temple's main hall, ensuring each text received the sun's rays.

He tried to read the text on the Shell Leaf Scriptures, but all he saw were ordinary Buddhist scriptures, nothing special.

Then, from deep within the Zen Sect came the chiding voice of the old monk.

"Novice Monk, why are you looking at the scriptures?"

"The text is without words, bound by ink; the Zen mystery sits at the heart.

Do not seek true meaning from the Shell Leaf; the heart's lamp misconstrues the words! Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!"

"Now that you've broken the lust, killing, theft, deceit precepts, you may realize the path, yet hurry to find your inner Bodhi, and with the true meaning of the Four Truths water it, let it decay, only then... can the Bodhi enter your heart."

"Go now; achieving the Four Truths is not easy. The Bodhi Tree is at the back mountain; do not waste time."

Demon Monk Song Yan rose, bowed toward the deep recesses of the Zen Sect, and then stepped out of the ancient temple, heading for the back mountain.

No matter how evil this power is, he had no other choice.

In this place, everything seemed serene without any bloodshed or carnage.

In the mountains, pine winds echoed with chants, the morning hues embraced him, while in the distance, the sound of the bell resonated, each tone carrying a strange murderous aura...

Along the way, Song Yan occasionally saw monks in gray robes, either wielding precept knives to slaughter or embracing women with lust, mixing things up among crowds, or sheepishly stealing while walking through deep mountain markets...

The deep mountain was heavy with mist.

Song Yan waved his hand, and the market, women, and crowds disappeared, leaving only monks in gray robes fleeing with heads in their hands.

The monks in gray robes, for reasons unknown, upon seeing him, instinctively cowered and ducked away, screaming, "He is about to attain Bodhi," "He is about to comprehend Formless Bodhi, run," "Run, do not let him catch you."

Song Yan, deep in contemplation, continued forward.

...

...

Twilight like blood, a lush tree grew at the end of Song Yan's sight, iron-colored drooping branches, amidst the branches a faint new moon's golden glow...

Song Yan stepped to the tree, sitting cross-legged.

At that moment, he felt an intense surge of lust, slaughter, deceit, and theft thoughts in his mind.

These thoughts, like streams, watered the lush tree.

The tree gradually withered, decayed, and all golden light vanished, the tree disappeared.

But Song Yan distinctly perceived where the tree lay.

The tree... at this moment was right in his heart.

He remained the strong monk with lustful-eyes and seductive lips, yet at some point his gray robes akin to the "Novice" had entirely turned black, pitch-black, without light!

Within his heart, there stood a rotting, pitted Bodhi Tree, which was riddled with numerous holes.

Song Yan counted.

Eighteen.

Almost by instinct, he suddenly quickened his pace towards the mountain's edge.

Along the way, as he passed the mountain path, he again saw monks in gray robes doing acts of "realization of true truths" within the deep mist.

Song Yan quickly advanced, the monk immediately noticed, screeched, abandoning his actions to flee.

Song Yan continued his wandering within the mountain.

Time seemed to pass indefinitely, and he silently approached an obscene monk engaged with a woman, then swiftly seized the monk.

From his palm, tree roots emerged instantly.

The gray-robed monk noticed belatedly, screamed, repeatedly pleading "Spare me, spare me, Abbot!"

Song Yan forcefully pulled, the tree roots pierced through the gray-robed Demon Monk, dragging him into the Bodhi Tree's hole.

Once the gray-robed monk entered the Bodhi Tree, he suddenly became devout, clasping hands in prayer, reverently chanting scriptures.

Song Yan felt this monk's power now belonged entirely to him and... he could command this Demon Monk to do anything at any time.

No!

This phrase is inaccurate; the accurate one would indeed be that the Demon Monk had been transformed by him.

After a little perception, Song Yan took stock of the remaining "seventeen holes" on the Bodhi Tree and began to transform Demon Monks all over the mountain, placing those who were destined into the holes of the Bodhi Tree.

Heart harbors Bodhi Tree, transforming people of the mundane world.

This phrase full of Zen meaning is utterly twisted here.

Nevertheless, Song Yan did not care, amidst the transformation process, he realized, if "Demon Monk" belonged to the Obsession Layer, then the "Abbot Bodhi" was the Rotting Thought Layer.

He was swiftly perfecting his Rotting Thought Layer Power.

Once perfected, he would leave this ancient temple—if the Demon Mother and Fire Demon Dragon were still lying in wait outside, then... another battle.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.