"Buddha?" Li Huowang gaped in disbelief at the creature before him, a massive blob of flesh at least twenty meters tall.
Regardless of what the old monk envisioned the Buddha to look like, the Buddha before Li Huowang was a huge, twisted mountain of pink flesh, its skin resembling that of a toad's back, covered in sticky blood plasma.
All sorts of bizarre reproductive organs wrapped in blood plasma protruded from that nauseating skin, writhing non-stop with the movement of its body.
Such a grotesque and disgusting thing was now crawling with monks wriggling all over it.
These monks were ecstatically sucking in the pink mist that the creature emitted from its body, their expressions frenetic and breathing rapid as they filled every gap on the "Buddha's" body with their own flesh and blood.
Women, kin, beasts, to this thing before him, it seemed the monks of Zhengde Temple were incrementally challenging their own physical limits.
"How about that! Impressive, isn't it? This stone Buddha is the biggest I've ever seen!" the oblivious old monk praised from the side.
Li Huowang was completely frozen. He had always thought that the likes of Master Danyang, those villains, were very unorthodox and shunned by the mainstream.
Since the monks of Zhengde Temple had a grudge against Master Danyang, these monks might not be extremely virtuous, but at least they should follow some principles.
But his assumption was fundamentally wrong! There was no such thing as righteous or evil sects! Perhaps every other cultivation method in the world was just as bizarre!
Master Danyang's enmity with these monks might not be a matter of good versus evil at all! It was simply a turf war between two factions!
No matter why they did what they did, one thing was certain—everything the old abbot said was a lie! He had been deceived by them!
"What Great Almsgiving Festival! That old monk must have been lying! No, I must leave this cursed place as soon as possible!"
Li Huowang turned his head towards the old monk who noticed nothing amiss, although he didn't know why the monks' blinding magic had no effect on him.
But one thing was for sure, as of now they hadn't discovered him, and he had to make good use of that to escape.
Li Huowang forcibly held back from making any strange gestures, composed his expression, and turned around. "It's okay, just so-so. I'm going back first."
After saying that, Li Huowang strode out of the hall, coming out to the nauseating sculpture garden outside.
The flesh mountains continued their surging movements around him but he pretended not to see them and kept walking.
"Hey, Taoist! Don't go, it's not easy to have you come over, what's the rush?"
The old monk ran out of the hall, following closely behind. "The food here isn't bad, how about we go have a meal together later? The deep-fried tofu here is even tastier than meat."
Li Huowang showed a hint of impatience on his face and began to quicken his steps, while the old monk kept on babbling by his side.
Just as Li Huowang was about to walk out of the range of the flesh mountains, a tall figure blocked his path.
It was a burly monk with a stern expression, standing a full head taller than Li Huowang, who peered down at him wordlessly.
"Is there something you want, Master?" Li Huowang asked coldly, his heart at that moment clenching tightly.
The tall monk leaned forward, scrutinizing Li Huowang very carefully.
Then, a moment that sent shivers down Li Huowang's spine occurred: a black tentacle—obviously soft and flexible, with suckers—emerged from the tonsure on top of his head, extending longer and longer.
This weird tentacle, like a snake swimming in the air, began to slowly twine around Li Huowang's head, as if sensing something.
"Amitabha, well said, well said, benefactor, your heart is impure."
As these words were spoken, the writhing mountains of flesh suddenly halted, and all the monks fixated their gazes upon Li Huowang.
"He knows I've used the 'Piercing Barrier Vision'! It's now or never!" Seeing the situation progressing irreversibly, Li Huowang steeled his heart, drew his sword single-handedly, and fiercely struck at the tall monk before him.
With a "slash," the tall monk's tentacles, along with his clothes, were instantly severed, spurting yellow-green pus outward.
With a "pop," an Elixir flew into Li Huowang's mouth. He pushed off the ground with both feet, shooting up three meters, rushing towards the closest earthen wall.
As Li Huowang took action, everyone in the vicinity underwent drastic changes; all the monks leaped down from the mountains of flesh and roared as they pursued him.
But that wasn't enough; the ground suddenly trembled, almost causing everyone to lose their footing.
Having reached the top of the wall, Li Huowang instinctively looked back and saw the gigantic "Buddha" had already broken through the temple's wooden doors and was rolling towards him!
"Run! Get out of this monastery! They can't possibly let the whole population of the Capital City see the 'Buddha's' true face!"
Li Huowang, with that belief, rushed towards the main hall. The noise behind him grew louder, but he could no longer afford to pay attention to it.
One man ran, a group gave chase. Fueled by the Elixir, Li Huowang's stamina was astonishing. Although he faced several close calls, thankfully he wasn't caught.
Just as Li Huowang was about to turn a corner and reach the entrance of Zhengde Temple, a familiar face blocked his path. It was Xinhui, the abbot of Zhengde Temple.
Without any hesitation, Li Huowang reached into his chest, groping for the Taoist Bell, but the next second, his hand froze in place; the Taoist Bell that could summon the powerful Lord You had disappeared.
"Amitabha, Benefactor Xuan Yang, are you looking for this item?" Xinhui asked, holding the Taoist Bell, his expression still unhurried.
Before Li Huowang could answer, Xinhui slowly walked up to him, stuffing the Taoist Bell back into his hands. "Benefactor, this item is inauspicious; you must be careful when using it."
Then, without questioning Li Huowang, he turned around and faced the group of monks who had caught up and scolded them. "Silence! You are men of the cloth; what kind of monastery is this if you act in such a panic?"
"Abbot! It's not that we wish to panic! It's just that this Taoist disciple suddenly attacked our Brother Jian Wei!!"
Hearing this, Abbot Xinhui turned around, looked at Li Huowang with puzzlement, and asked, "Benefactor Xuan Yang, is this true? Why did you suddenly attack a fellow disciple of this monastery? Was his care inadequate?"
Looking at the group of bald heads before him and the Taoist Bell back in his hands, Li Huowang was somewhat unable to comprehend what was happening. They all knew he had seen everything, so what act were they continuing to play?
After pondering for a moment, Li Huowang decided to confront the issue head-on. "Abbot Xinhui, you have a grudge against Master Danyang, and I happened to kill Master Danyang. Thanks would be unnecessary, but there's also no need for utter annihilation, right?"
"Rest assured, everything I have seen in the temple, I will keep my lips sealed, telling no one."
"Besides, with just my word alone, it's impossible to shake the reputation of your Zhengde Temple."
However, upon hearing Li Huowang's words, Xinhui's expression grew even more puzzled. "What did the benefactor see? This old monk truly does not understand."
At that moment, both parties were at a standstill, and the situation quieted down abruptly.
"Hmm? What's going on? Could it be that the Abbot is not in league with those things?" With doubt in his heart, Li Huowang slowly recounted everything he had seen.
"Absurd! Nothing but sheer nonsense!" This was the first time Li Huowang saw Xinhui grow angry; his two white whiskers under his nose trembled like dragon's whiskers, and his powerful aura instantly made all the monks behind him lower their heads in submission.