Chapter 170

Chapter 170: Monk Bu Yan
“Where is that Wooden Fish Ritual Block sound coming from?”

Everyone looked around. A young monk in white robes stepped toward them on the wind. White Jade Prayer Beads hung around his neck, and he carried a Wooden Fish Ritual Block in his hand.

Yu Zhao raised her brows when she saw him, a playful smile flashing in her eyes.

“Stinking monk, this has nothing to do with you. Get lost and stop meddling!”

The sinister man looked fierce, but in his heart he was very afraid.

In the Cultivation World, among the One Sect, Two Schools, Four Clans, the easiest people to recognize were the Buddhist cultivators of Clarity Sound Temple.

The monk in front of them looked young, and they could not see his cultivation level at all. That meant he was very likely from Clarity Sound Temple.

And Buddhist cultivators from Clarity Sound Temple were not people ordinary cultivators could provoke.

The young monk did not care about his harsh tone. A gentle, compassionate smile rested on his lips as he tapped the Wooden Fish Ritual Block again.

Thok.

“Hey, baldie, our Boss told you to get lost. Are you deaf? You can’t even talk, are you mute or what?”

“Hahahahaha!”

Another round of giggles and loud laughter rang out.

The smile at the young monk’s lips deepened. He struck the Wooden Fish Ritual Block a second time.

Thok.

[Just one more hit to go,] Yu Zhao silently counted in her heart.

The sinister man also sensed that something was wrong and hesitated, wondering if he should back down for now. But the mountain of flesh of a cultivator had already lost his patience.

“I told you to get lost and you didn’t. Then stay here for me!”

Before the words finished, his palm, as big as a fan, cut through the air with a howl, slapping toward the young monk.

In front of everyone, the young monk lifted his hand and struck the Wooden Fish Ritual Block for the third time.

Thok.

“Damn it! You stinking fish and rotten shrimp, this monk has put up with you for long enough! Watch how I send you off!”

The handsome young monk stuffed the Wooden Fish Ritual Block into his sleeve, gripping the Wooden Fish Mallet as he cursed and rushed forward.

Spiritual light flashed. The Wooden Fish Mallet in his hand, which had only been the length of a palm, stretched out as it met the wind and, in the blink of an eye, became as thick as an arm.

The mallet swung out and, though it moved later, it landed first, smashing into the meat-mountain cultivator’s forehead.

Dong.

An ethereal Buddha chant rang in the man’s ears. His vision went black, and he fell over, lying on the ground and sleeping as peacefully as a baby.

The sinister man and his companions stared with wide, shocked eyes.

This young monk not only cursed people, he beat them up too. Was he really not a Buddhist cultivator from Clarity Sound Temple, but some wild monk from outside?

Only, his fighting power was too shocking. With just one move, he had knocked their companion out cold.

“Retreat!”

The sinister man made a quick decision.

The others ignored the fallen meat-mountain cultivator and scattered like startled avian beasts.

Yu Zhao stomped her right foot heavily.

Invisible soul force spread out from her as the center.

The six who were trying to escape stumbled as their steps went out of rhythm and tumbled to the ground like rolling gourds.

The young monk gave Yu Zhao a surprised look, then lifted his mallet and tapped each of the fallen men’s foreheads in turn.

All seven of them lay stiff and straight on the ground, the same peaceful smile on their faces, which looked rather eerie.

The young monk straightened up and chanted: “Amitabha Buddha.” The Wooden Fish Mallet in his hand shrank back to its normal size.

“This poor monk has committed the sin of harsh speech again and has made the young benefactor laugh at me.”

The young monk pressed his palms together and bowed to Yu Zhao, a shy smile on his face.

“The master is too polite.”

Yu Zhao smiled faintly.

“Does the young benefactor know of this poor monk?” the young monk suddenly asked.

“Monk Bu Yan of Clarity Sound Temple. I have long heard of your name.”

Yu Zhao did not pretend otherwise and directly said the young monk’s identity.

Bu Yan rubbed his smooth bald head and laughed foolishly: “So my name has already spread this far.”

Yu Zhao only smiled and did not speak.

In her past life, Bu Yan’s Dharma name really had resounded through the Cultivation World, but it was a bad reputation.

Monk Bu Yan was known everywhere as the foul-mouthed bald donkey.

He was famous in the Cultivation World for his vicious tongue and his rough, brutal way of “saving” people.

Any cultivator struck by his Wooden Fish Mallet would, in the best case, have their cultivation level fall. In the worst case, their spirit power would be completely destroyed. For a time, countless heretic cultivators were terrified at the mention of his name.

But Bu Yan’s coarse way of dealing with people also drew a lot of criticism. Some even attacked him, saying he did not deserve to be a Buddhist cultivator, much less a Buddhist cultivator of Clarity Sound Temple.

This bothered Bu Yan quite a bit.

After he was born, someone threw him into a brothel, where a courtesan raised him. He grew up in the marketplace, soaking in coarse language every day. Even after he later entered Clarity Sound Temple to become a monk, he could not change his manner of speech.

Later, a High Monk of Clarity Sound Temple thought of a way and had Bu Yan cultivate the Vow of Silence Meditation, so he would speak less and reduce his karmic sins of the tongue.

Whenever he could not hold back his harsh words, he had to first knock three times on the Wooden Fish Ritual Block.

Only after the Wooden Fish Ritual Block sounded three times and his anger did not fade was he allowed to speak.

It was by relying on this Vow of Silence Meditation that Bu Yan later became a High Monk of his era.

By her calculation of the timeline, Bu Yan should have only just started cultivating the Vow of Silence Meditation. His heart was not yet steady, and it was easy for him to break his vow.

“Young benefactor, these men are soaked in blood. This poor monk has already successfully sent them on their way. If their possessions are left with them, they will only bring them more disaster. In my view, we might as well take them. That would also count as a good deed.”

Yu Zhao paused, then the corners of her lips lifted.

This Monk Bu Yan really was an interesting person.

“Master is completely right. I have learned something,” Yu Zhao said.

The two of them hit it off at once and, in a fair and peaceful way, divided up the seven men’s storage pouches.

“Benefactor Yu…”

“Monk Bu Yan, you can call me by my name.”

“Yu Zhao,” Bu Yan followed along easily. “I suppose you are also here for the Cultivation World Grand Tournament. Flameblaze City is just ahead. Why don’t we travel together?”

“That was exactly my thought.”

With their destination so close, Yu Zhao put away her idea of robbing robbers again and prepared to head for Flameblaze City with Bu Yan.

Unexpectedly, Bu Yan suddenly turned around. His eyes closed halfway, and he began to chant under his breath.

Yu Zhao was just wondering what he was doing when she saw the corpses she had hidden with an illusion art dry up rapidly. In the next moment, they turned into fine dust that scattered away on the wind.

She was slightly stunned.

So Bu Yan had already seen through the illusion art she had set up.

“Let’s go,” Bu Yan said quietly.

The two of them leaped into the air, turning into two streaks of light that flew toward Flameblaze City.

Far away in the northern region, at Heavenly Sword Sect.

Snowflakes the size of goose feathers fell thickly from the sky.

The peaks of Unbroken Flow were covered in heavy snow. From a distance, they looked like a chain of connected snow mountains.

At that moment, a sharp, awe-inspiring sword light shot straight into the sky.

Roaring sword qi rolled out, blowing the falling snow back upward.

Chong Yang, Sect Head of Heavenly Sword Sect, Sword Sovereign Jiu Hua, and the others appeared in midair one after another, their eyes full of amazement.

“Jiu Hua, Han Zhou’s speed of breaking through is truly incredible. Tell us, are you hiding some secret method of teaching disciples from us on purpose?” someone joked.

The one teasing Sword Sovereign Jiu Hua was an old woman with hair like silver threads. She looked to be the oldest among them, but in truth she was actually a bit younger than Sword Sovereign Jiu Hua. The two of them had been friends for many years, so she spoke without any restraint.

Sword Sovereign Jiu Hua spread his hands helplessly: “This really has nothing to do with me. That rascal went out once, and I don’t know what hit him. After he came back, he started cultivating bitterly, almost tying his hair to the beam and stabbing his thigh with an awl.”

“Hahaha, Han Zhou is doing great. If he can break through before the Cultivation World Grand Tournament, our Heavenly Sword Sect might really have a hope of taking first place!”

Sect Master Chong Yang was the happiest of all.

He did not care why Ji Han Zhou was working so hard. He only cared about the result.

“Sect Master, forgive this disciple for speaking frankly, but this year, in the Cultivation World Grand Tournament, Heavenly Sword Sect’s chances of taking first place are not very high. We can only fight Greenwood Sect for second.”