Chapter 53

"Prostrate myself to the great Su Xi Di, bow my head to the seven Kuti, I now praise the great Zhunti, may you show mercy and protect me. Namo Sa Duo Nan. San Miao San Pu Tuo. Kuti Nan. Da Zhi Ta..."

A gentle Buddhist chant wafted through the air, dispelling the illusion. Lin Fan and Ximen Shuai simultaneously pushed away the women beside them, who immediately turned into trees. Zhang Tongyuan stroked the tree, grieving: "Me, me! Which bastard ruined my good deed."

"The Buddha shows mercy to save you, yet you speak ill words. Be careful, or I will send you to the eighteen levels of hell." A monk descended on a Zen staff, who else could it be but Juesei? How did Juesei come here? To say that Juesei is despicable and shameless is true, but he also takes it upon himself to subdue demons. Since all the able-bodied men within the Zitong Sect's territory were captured, the Zitong Sect disciples sneaked to the outskirts of Xizhou to capture people. Juesei was just about to go to a temple in Xizhou to inform them that he had not obtained the Wu Xin Vine when he happened to witness this. Juesei was puzzled, why did this evil person want to capture them alive? So he pretended to be an ordinary monk and walked on the road, kneeling and begging for mercy when facing the Zitong Sect disciples, then trapped them. After forcing a confession, he learned that a thousand-year-old fox demon needed the hearts of several able-bodied men each month to make medicine. After finding out the location of the Cui Lü Valley, he came to subdue the demon.

In the Hinayana Buddhist tradition, subduing demons is about saving people. The Mahayana Buddhist tradition is more complex. There is a story about a tiger that was hungry and wanted to eat a person. The monk prevented the tiger from eating the person, and to avoid the tiger dying of hunger, he fed himself to the tiger. The Hinayana Buddhists sneered at this, saying that giving a fish is not as good as teaching how to fish. If you feed the tiger today, it will still need to eat tomorrow. Removing the tiger that eats people is an act of compassion.

"Juesei!" Ximen Shuai and Lin Fan did not expect Juesei to help.

Juesei said, "You two owe me a favor. If you are rude to me again, it will be a case of ingratitude, and you will go to the eighteen levels of hell."

Ximen Shuai sneered, "Nonsense."

The thousand-year-old fox demon, seeing the situation, knew it was not good and thought of a way to escape. He asked, "Who are you?"

"Benefactor, don't you remember me?" Juesei asked, "Two hundred years ago, you passed by a mountain and saw a little monk being chased by hungry wolves. You helped him, and that monk was my master."

Is there such a thing? The thousand-year-old fox demon was puzzled. Given his current combat strength, Juesei had no reason to lie, so there were two possibilities: either he really did it, or Juesei mistook him for someone else. Regardless, it was a good thing. The thousand-year-old fox demon's eyes darted around, "Then why are you helping them?"

Juesei clasped his hands together, "Benefactor, I saw they were in mortal danger. I couldn't bear to see them die, nor could I bear to see you commit a sin. So I acted. Ximen Shuai, Lin Fan, you owe me a favor, so scram."

Although Ximen Shuai was very unhappy, he knew the rules of the Demon Sect well. Knowing that Juesei had saved him, it would be inappropriate to attack Juesei now. He grunted and flew away with the Qiankun Ring. Lin Fan said, "Monk, she's not a good person, be careful." He also hovered in the air.

Zhang Tongyuan looked around, "Only the Daoist is left, come, come, let's play." He attacked the thousand-year-old fox demon with the White Rainbow Sword.

Juesei moved quickly, blocking the attack with his Zen staff, and retreated to the side of the fox demon, clasping his hands together, "Amitabha, why are you so deluded, layman?"

"Get lost." Zhang Tongyuan was unhappy, wondering why the Buddhist weapon, which was so powerful, could push him so far.

"To repay you, I can only send you to the afterlife." As he spoke, the Zen staff glowed brightly, with Sanskrit characters swirling around. Zhang Tongyuan focused, but Juesei suddenly turned and struck the thousand-year-old fox demon on the head with the Zen staff.

"Ahh!" The thousand-year-old fox demon did not expect Juesei to suddenly turn against him, screamed, fell to the ground, and transformed into a white fox.

As Zhang Tongyuan was stunned, Juesei grabbed the fox and ran. Zhang Tongyuan muttered, "What is he doing? Damn bald monk, taking my fur! Thief, where are you going?"

Demons need to be subdued, and treasures need to be taken; there is no conflict between the two.

A sudden change occurred, and Ximen Shuai watched carefully, feeling a chill. The fox was dead... where could he get the Lei Yun Amber? Would the Hundred-Eyed Demon Lord go mad and be willing to exchange the Lei Yun Amber for the corpse? Even if he did, would he not turn against him afterward?

"Shrink the sky, expand the earth!" A gust of wind blew in front of Juesei, and a hand grabbed the fox's corpse. Juesei secretly smiled, his Zen staff glowing brightly, increasing its power. But he did not expect that Lin Fan had a higher-level Buddhist weapon, which could borrow strength, and he snatched the fox's corpse.

"Where are you going, Daoist?" Juesei, furious, tried to chase, but Zhang Tongyuan's White Rainbow Sword was already attacking. He hurriedly used his Zen staff to block, pointing at Lin Fan, "He took it."

"I know." Zhang Tongyuan chased after Lin Fan, the White Rainbow Sword following closely, trying to block Lin Fan.

Lin Fan suddenly turned and asked, "Dare you kill me?"

Zhang Tongyuan was shocked and quickly cast a spell, the White Rainbow Sword reversing. He was joking, taking the fur was one thing, but killing a disciple of the Zixiao Hall and a disciple of the Yunqing Mountain, how could he explain it? But then he thought it was not right, and he used the hilt of the sword to hit Lin Fan, causing Lin Fan's body to split into a yellow bean.

An illusion, using an illusion in such a short time was impressive. Zhang Tongyuan's eyes glowed, immediately noticing something unusual in the ground. Clearly, after taking the fox's corpse, Lin Fan split into two, the real body entering the ground, and the clone escaping.

Zhang Tongyuan pointed at the ground, and the White Rainbow Sword pierced through the earth, a sword energy breaking through the ground, chasing after Lin Fan. But unexpectedly, a Qiankun Ring intercepted the White Rainbow Sword. Zhang Tongyuan was furious, "Ximen Shuai, get lost, it's none of your business. No one dares to take my things."

Ximen Shuai asked, "Who did this thing originally belong to?"

This was complicated. Without him, the Cui Lü Screen could not be broken. Without Juesei, the enchantment could not be broken. But Juesei tricked everyone, killed the fox, and took the corpse. Lin Fan had already figured it out; as soon as Juesei moved, he took it... To say that without Ximen Shuai and Lin Fan, he would have been killed by Ziyue. If the debts were calculated, the fur should belong to Juesei, as only Juesei did not owe anyone a favor and saved everyone. But Juesei used deception to take it...

Before Zhang Tongyuan could sort out the complex relationships, Lin Fan disappeared. Zhang Tongyuan was furious and attacked Ximen Shuai with the White Rainbow Sword. He came to take the fur, and flying so far was not easy. Juesei cursed on the spot, these righteous people were too despicable...

At this moment, Lin Fan flew back, and Ximen Shuai was stunned. Was he going to set an example? It was fine if he did, but who should he give the corpse to, Zhang Tongyuan or Juesei? It would be better for him to take the corpse and bear the blame. Zhang Tongyuan and Juesei were delighted: "Conscience discovered." They looked at each other meaningfully. As a person with high moral principles, Ximen Shuai clearly had no interest in the fur, so the only ones who could take it were them.

"Run!" Lin Fan shouted and flew away without stopping.

Juesei watched Lin Fan fly by, "Your fur."

"That's your fur." Go after it, Daoist, I'll take the easy pickings.

"Wait, the Hundred-Eyed Demon Lord is coming." Lin Fan shouted, looking back.