Chapter 28

"Ah, fights always happen for no reason. Great Monk, you said those monsters were born from the transformation of heaven and earth, so they must be very powerful. Who could possibly fight them? Oh, I'm interrupting again, I'm sorry, I'll cover my mouth." Lu Zheng couldn't help but interject when he heard about the human-monster battle.

The ascetic monk continued, "The spiritual birds and beasts born from heaven and earth possess great powers, but among humans, those who suddenly comprehend the way of heaven also know how to cultivate, and have passed down various cultivation methods. Speaking of their origins, they should be attributed to the Buddha and the Daoist patriarch."

Four thousand years ago, the Buddha was born in the West, and the Daoist patriarch was born in the East. Both cultivated in human form, leaving countless teachings in the world to guide people to liberation. In the end, the Buddha rode a white horse to the East, and the Daoist patriarch rode a blue ox to the West, both disappearing without a trace. People said the Daoist patriarch had ascended to immortality, and the Buddha had achieved Nirvana.

After the Buddha and the Daoist patriarch attained enlightenment, their disciples practiced according to the 'Thirty-two Manifestations' left by the Buddha and the 'Supreme Subtle Scripture' left by the Daoist patriarch, and established the Buddhist and Daoist sects. The leader of the Buddhist sect was called the Worldly Venerable, and the leader of the Daoist sect was called the Forgetful Heaven, passed down generation after generation. For a thousand years, the teachings of Buddhism and Daoism spread widely, and those with the potential to cultivate all entered the Buddhist or Daoist paths. As a result, Buddhist and Daoist disciples were spread throughout the world, and the Buddhist and Daoist sects evolved into many branches. The Buddhist sect took the place where the Buddha taught as its main temple, called the Buddha Mountain, and sent high monks to guard the ten famous mountains, establishing large temples, known as the Eleven Mountains of the Buddhist Sect. The Daoist sect took the Xuan Sect on the Three Mountains as its foundation, evolving into the Heaven and Earth Sects, and from these two sects, the Yin-Yang Eight Schools evolved, known as the Eleven Sects of the Daoist Sect.

Buddhism is majestic like a mountain, and Daoism is profound like the sea. Therefore, people also call the Buddhist sect the Buddha Mountain and the Daoist sect the Daoist Sea."

And three thousand years ago, in that human-monster battle, the human side was led by the seventh-generation Worldly Venerable Tan Huazang and the seventh-generation Forgetful Heaven Xuanyao Chu, who commanded all the cultivators in the world. On the monster side, besides the four holy and four evil ancient eight tribes I mentioned earlier, their leader was the most mysterious of the monster race, known as the ancestor of all monsters, the Heavenly Monster Chiyou and the Earthly Monster Zhujiuyin.

"Ah, the Heavenly Monster Chiyou!" Lu Zheng suddenly exclaimed.

The ascetic monk asked, "Little layman, what's wrong?"

Lu Zheng suddenly heard the name of the Heavenly Monster Chiyou, and for some reason, the jade pendant on his chest suddenly felt hot, but this heat quickly disappeared. He quickly waved his hand and said, "Nothing, nothing, maybe the bonfire is too hot! Great Monk, please continue. Is the ancestor of all monsters very powerful?"

The ascetic monk poked a piece of wood, stirring the bonfire to move it away from Lu Zheng, and then said, "Since he is called the ancestor of all monsters and is named 'Heaven,' his powers should be very great. However, it's hard for me to say exactly how powerful he is. The four holy and four evil eight monsters were born from the primordial chaos, different from humans, and they have extremely powerful innate abilities without the need for cultivation. The Heavenly and Earthly monsters are even more mysterious, with powers far surpassing these eight monsters.

It is said that at that time, the Venerable Tan Hua and the Heaven Xuanyao had already reached the initial realm of the legendary 'Three Transcendent Realms'—the realm where nothing can compare. But even the Earthly monster alone, in terms of power, could match them.

At the beginning of the human-monster battle, the Earthly monster Zhujiuyin first approached the Venerable Tan Hua and the Heaven Xuanyao. He said that this human-monster battle was inevitable, but to avoid the destruction of life, he would represent the monsters, and the Venerable Tan Hua and the Heaven Xuanyao would represent the humans, for a fair battle. If he lost, the monsters would immediately cease the battle and restore peace to the world.

The two venerables thought this was a good idea, especially since the opponent was arrogant and wanted to fight two against one. With their realm where nothing can compare, they thought they might have some unexpected variables to win, but at least a draw should be no problem.

They even discussed that if they won, they wouldn't need to kill the Earthly monster and create enmity, as long as the monsters stopped the battle. So they readily agreed. They set a date and place for the battle. But they never expected that this would lead them into an extremely vicious trap!"

Lu Zheng was surprised and said, "What kind of trap? Did the two venerables fall into an ambush?"

The ascetic monk shook his head, his eyes showing a look of reluctance, and said, "Little layman, you're wrong. This wasn't a trap set for the two venerables, but the Earthly monster's invitation to the battle itself was a trap! The Earthly monster's goal was to use the battle as a pretext to lure the two venerables away from the Three Mountains and the Buddha Mountain.

Because the Three Mountains and the Buddha Mountain were protected by great arrays, and with the two venerables in charge, they were almost impossible to breach. Therefore, the Earthly monster devised this plan to lure the two venerables away. Alas, on the day the two venerables left the Three Mountains and the Buddha Mountain to battle the Earthly monster, the eight ancient monsters of the eight tribes took the opportunity to attack the Three Mountains.

At that time, although the Daoist sect had gathered the elites of the Xuan Sect, the Heaven and Earth Sects, and the Yin-Yang Eight Schools, and had set up an array with the eight great Daoist artifacts to fight the eight monsters, they ultimately could not resist. That battle was so fierce that the sky and earth were filled with sorrow, and the sun and moon lost their light. In the end, the Daoist sect was defeated, with countless casualties, and even the eight great artifacts were seized. After the eight monsters seized the eight great artifacts of the Daoist sect, they directly attacked the Buddha Mountain. Starting from the Buddha Mountain, they broke through the ten great temples of the Buddhist sect, destroying all eleven mountains of the Buddhist sect."

At this point, the ascetic monk sighed and continued, "Poor the tens of thousands of monks of the Buddhist sect, almost none survived, all killed by the monsters. After that day, the eleven great mountains of the Buddhist sect were stained with blood."

Lu Zheng was so shocked that he drew a deep breath and couldn't speak for a long time.

The ascetic monk, seeing the bonfire about to go out, added two more pieces of wood, making the fire burn brighter, reflecting on his face and showing the compassion and reluctance in his eyes.

Lu Zheng said, "Those monsters are truly inhuman!"

The ascetic monk sighed and said, "Even more tragic things are yet to come! The Daoist Sea was destroyed, and the Buddha Mountain was breached. The human world was powerless to resist the monsters' destruction, and the ten monsters made an extremely cruel decision."

At this point, the ascetic monk paused, closed his eyes, and said, "To exterminate humanity!"

Lu Zheng exclaimed, "Ah!"

The ascetic monk opened his eyes and looked at Lu Zheng, asking, "Little layman, do you know how the ten monsters decided to carry out this extermination of humanity?"

Lu Zheng was stunned and said, "With their great powers, even cultivators with great abilities couldn't resist them, let alone ordinary people like us. But there are so many people in the world, and they are only ten. How could they possibly kill everyone?"

The ascetic monk smiled bitterly and said, "Yes, there are many humans, and they are spread throughout the world, so it's impossible for ten monsters to kill everyone in a short time. Therefore, the monsters came up with a plan. There are many tigers, wolves, bears, and leopards in the world, as well as many other beasts."

Lu Zheng was horrified and said, "They drove all the wild animals to eat people?"

The ascetic monk said, "Yes, the ten monsters are the ancestors of all monsters and the leaders of all creatures. Many of their subordinates are the leaders of various beasts. Imagine if they drove all the tigers, lions, leopards, and wolf packs into the human world to eat human flesh... Imagine if they drove countless locusts, snakes, and rats to eat all the crops and food. Imagine if they used their powers to move mountains and fill the sea, causing the boundless waters of the sea to flood the land... Tell me, would humans have any chance of survival?"

Lu Zheng felt a chill down his back, never imagining that the ten monsters could be so evil. Although it happened three thousand years ago, hearing the ascetic monk's account, imagining the tigers and wolves rampaging through the human world, and the mountains and fields filled with wild beasts, made his hair stand on end, feeling a deep and terrifying fear. Although he knew that humans ultimately did not become extinct, imagining himself in that situation, he couldn't help but ask, "What about the Venerable Tan Hua and the Heaven Xuanyao? Didn't they have a way?"

The ascetic monk said, "On the day the two venerables fought the Earthly monster, and the eight ancient monsters attacked the Three Mountains and the Buddha Mountain, the two venerables naturally sensed that they had fallen into a trap. But the Earthly monster's powers were indeed strong, and by the time they broke free and returned, the tragedy had already happened and could not be reversed. Then, the two venerables discovered that the monsters had already begun to drive countless birds and beasts into the human world. Shocked, they tried to use their powers to save the people, but they found themselves surrounded by the ten monsters!"

At this point, the ascetic monk fell silent, as if thinking about something, and did not continue.

Lu Zheng called out to him, "Great Monk, why don't you continue?"

The ascetic monk came to his senses and asked Lu Zheng, "Little layman, if you were in that situation, so dangerous, would you step forward to save the two venerables?"

Lu Zheng didn't understand why the ascetic monk asked this and answered, "Of course I would, but I don't have the ability to fight those monsters."

The ascetic monk nodded in agreement and said, "Yes, to do such a thing, not only courage is needed, but also the ability."

Lu Zheng didn't understand why the ascetic monk suddenly had such a feeling and asked, "Great Monk, what's wrong with you?"

The ascetic monk smiled and said, "Nothing, I just suddenly thought of something. Little layman, it's late, you should rest. We'll continue the story tomorrow."

Lu Zheng was surprised and said, "Great Monk, have you studied storytelling?"

The ascetic monk said, "No, why do you ask?"

Lu Zheng laughed and said, "If you hadn't studied storytelling, how could you be like those storytellers, stopping at the critical moment to leave people hanging, waiting for a reward?"