Ren Huizhong huffed some steam from his gigantic nose as he looked down at the contemplating Monk.
'There he goes in his own world after mentioning some made-up precepts. Well, not that I can blame him.
The Non-Violence of the monks is partially what caused their downfall, so this young monk must have created a Sutra to justify violence in his mind...
Or maybe his master did? He seemed to believe that it is a normal part of Buddhism.'
The Dragon of the Valley was no monk, sure, but he knew most of what was to know about Buddhism as a creed.
He knew just how strict it was, and just how inclined towards peace it was.
The last two abbots had been like that, heavily insisting on trying to stop all conflicts peacefully.
They had ruled over the Buddhist sect for a few hundred years, and thanks to them, the sect had mostly focused on defensive martial arts.
'But this young Monk's martial arts were anything but defensive... Vicious and disciplined, sure, but what he showcased was purely offensive.'
To the great Dragon of the Valley, the young monk was truly an enigma.
For a moment, it also remembered the ominous statue that had appeared behind the monk as he had performed that move.
It was only possible to characterize it as a demonic entity.
It had flashed for only a fraction of a second, but the Dragon of the Valley had clearly seen and remembered its features.
A burly shirtless creature with darkened skin, a thick beard, and a bald head.
The statue had two sets of arms, each holding a distinct weapon. Pointed teeth were sticking out of its lower jaw, and its legs seemed to be stuck in the lotus position forever, melted together...
It was eerie. A martial art that Ren Huizhong had never either seen or heard of.
Truthfully, the Dragon first thought that Mo Yangling was some Demonic Cultivator after seeing the statue, but that greeting made him trust and understand the monk's actual nature.
After all, only the great abbots and the high-ranking monks underneath them had known the greeting of the Wise Man of Brilliant Light.
It was not uncommon for the higher-ups of the Buddhist Sect to interact with the many beasts of the Vermilion Continent. During those interactions, that greeting was used as a way to initiate talks even in a violent situation.
Of course, interactions were not always positive, but for the most part there was always some mutual respect.
The Dragon of the Valley was one of the Beast Kings of that great Chen Lu Forest. He ruled over a great section of it with an iron fist.
His strength was overbearing for the region but not all that great in the grand scheme of things. Regardless, the Turtle Demon was content with his place in the cycle.
It was from him that Mo Yangling learned the name of the forest that he was 'born' in.
It was also from the Dragon that he learned the general direction of the Guozhi Kingdom, where his body originated from.
When the original Mo Yangling had fled into that forest, he had run randomly and had disoriented himself quite a bit, so the Monk would've had a rather difficult time navigating back there.
The Dragon's section of Chen Lu Forest was the closest one to the Guozhi Kingdom. There were 3 other Beast Kings residing within that forest but centred more towards the other nearby kingdoms in the other cardinal directions.
In a way, the Monk was fortunate enough to land into the territory of the laziest Beast King, who preferred sleeping over breathing at times.
A more pro-active Beast King would have discovered the monk earlier on and likely would have eaten him as well.
One thing was for sure... The Monk had finally made a friend in that world.
"Hoho~ And then I remember killing that Millennial Deer by shitting on it by mistake! The sheer weight of it broke its neck hoho~"
Laughing, the Dragon's loud voice roared as the two got right to sharing stories.
"Millennial Deer? That's what they're called? I guess that's why they were scared of me so much!" The Monk remarked as he remembered the odd encounters he had with the animals of the forest.
"Well, you were washing in my piss the entire time, hohoho~"
The best laughed a bit, expecting the Monk to chuckle along. But when looking down, he could see the monk's face twisting in what could only be described as rage and disgust.
"... What?"
To that, the beast only laughed harder.
"Hahaha~ What did you expect?! That stream of 'water' was coming from an orifice on my shell. Not to worry, however, my piss is merely just diluted and liquified excess Origin Energy."
"... That only makes it slightly more acceptable..." The Monk muttered before looking to the side and clutching at his hair.
"It's a lot more acceptable than you think. I believe humans call this the 'Origin Spring'? Strong Cultivators oftentimes seek it out, it can only come from Beast Kings though."
The Beast motioned towards the river that was no longer flowing, and the rather large lake that had been formed in the distance.
"Cultivators are a lot weirder than I imagined..." Mo Yangling scowled as he looked at the lake with a bit of disgust.
The image of celestial and majestic immortals somewhat diminished in his mind at that moment. And it was about to get even worse.
"Oh, this is one of the least weird things about them.
You'd be surprised what parts of beasts they are willing to consume or turn into pills in order to get even the slightest bit stronger.
I've heard about them consuming every single part of a Demonic Beast's body, excrement included."
On one hand, the Monk could respect the hustle. But on the other, he didn't know if he would be willing to do the same.
'I'd rather not consume the 'Beast Poop and Bone Marrow Pill' to slightly increase my internal Origin Energy by a quarter of a percentage...'
Even if Demonic Beasts were different from wild animals he knew in his past life, and had different digestive systems or something, he still found the idea disgusting.
Unwilling to hear any more disgusting stories from the Dragon, the Monk started sharing some of his as well.
"There was this one time where I 'beat a monk half to death' by mistake, haha~
I just punched him once in the jaw, and he tumbled over like an idiot and fell off a cliff."
Mo Yangling quickly started remembering some of the stranger events that had happened during his time as a monk.
"... What the hell?" The Dragon was flabbergasted when hearing about the many stories that the Monk was telling him.
'Since when were monks so violent with one another?!? Also, why would mortals be sparing at the top of a cliff?!'
He had no idea that, back in Mo Yangling's original world, people were becoming Monks mainly for the practice of Martial Arts.
They were going there to either learn to fight, get fit, or both. Very few were actually there to pursue enlightenment.
It was the exact opposite in the Vermillion Continent.
Buddhist Monks used to be only those who sought true enlightenment with their every breath... Even disciples needed to adhere to that rule, no matter how low their ranking was.
"It seems you are from a very interesting small Buddhist school, certainly a nonconformist one... It would be fun to see those beliefs spread to the rest of the world.
Say, are there any others from your temple roaming these woods of mine?"
The Dragon huffed as it wondered about the possibility of there being more people like the Monk in front of him.
Mo Yangling seemed to stop and think for a moment, thinking about what details to mention about the past and what to withhold.
"Unfortunately not, my reptilian friend. I am the last one of my temple left in this world."
The Monk was technically not lying, there were none from his monastery left in that world, as his monastery was not in that world.
"Tis' a shame. Maybe one day you can rebuild it then? The world can use more people with your beliefs."
While speaking, the beast let out a yawn, causing the Monk to do as well.
"That's kind of my plan Venerable Turtle! I shall become the next Reverend Abbot of my own Buddhist Sect!"
The Monk proclaimed, crossing his arms proudly as he felt the wind on his naked torso.
"Hah! You certainly have the talent for it, but be careful... You ought to be stronger than you are now before doing something so eye-catching."
The monk merely nodded, taking the wise beast's advice to heart before turning around and looking further into the distance.
"I may not be rushing to recreate the Buddhist Sect... But I do wish to leave this forest at the very least, see more of the world."
Ren shifted its massive body in that same direction as well, its gigantic eyes gazing into both the Monk and the expansive forest before them.
"Normally, I would have given you some proof of our friendship, so that the residents of this forest wouldn't dare approach you.
But you are strong, a lot stronger than you have any right to be really... You have the power to roam the world it seems."
The Beast King huffed as he felt the Origin Energy brimming within the Monk's body. It was at the very least at the level of Martial Grandmaster.
'But if that was all there was to this monk, he never would have pierced my Verdant Shell so easily...'
"My advice would be to dive in head first into hardship, fight more and more until you fully master that martial art of yours fully.
Only then can you even dream about teaching it to others properly anyway..."
The monk looked down at his palms, clenching them into fists before looking up at the beast.
'I thought I had mastered it fully, but it seems I only have the movements down. Not that it can be helped, I was only a mortal.
At least I can say I have a solid foundation. I just need to learn how to better channel Origin Energy through my martial arts...'
"Thank you for your advice, Venerable Ren!"
The Monk immediately spun, facing the Beast and giving it a martial salute.
His hair flowed in the wind as his chiselled muscles shined underneath the dimming sunlight.
It could have been a very majestic scene, were he dressed in anything other than torn underwear.
"..." The Dragon of the Valley blinked a few times, as he watched the monk's underwear rip and his junk flow in the wind as well.
Mo Yangling's entire face seemed to be shrouded as he also looked down, at the only piece of clothing he had torn off completely from his body and flew away.
'You've served me well comrade...' The Monk thought as he looked at the flying piece of ripped clothing.
It had stuck with him through thick and thin, keeping him decent through even the toughest times. The Monk almost shed a tear for it.
Meanwhile, the Dragon of the Valley was thinking of something else entirely. Something that would have certainly earned it a punch to the head if spoken out loud.
'Humu~ It is only natural that my friend would have an impressive size for a human!'
The beast seemed to gain a hint of pride at those hidden thoughts. Before he decided to give another parting gift to the monk.
Its throat and lounge moved slightly, as it spat out a large glob of spit and clothes at the monk, covering him completely.
"There you go, some of the better clothes of cultivators I've eaten in the past."
"..." The monk could barely open his eyes within that thick and annoyingly sticky spit.
"What the fuck!?? Why is your spit this slimy you freak?!" The Monk turned completely white as his body turned, preparing to strike.
"Bah~ It's just how it is. Don't worry, you can just wash the clothes in that lake over there..."
The Beast pointed towards the lake in the distance with one of its clawed legs, before it turned around and settled back, trying to go back to sleep.
"Lake? You mean your piss?!?" Veins appeared on the Monk's forehead as he continued to swipe the spit away from himself and the clothes around him.
"Hey, at least my piss is a highly sought treasure! Can you say the same about yours?" The Dragon spoke from its hidden/slumbering position.
"... Fuck you, Ren."
"What? What happened to 'Venerable Ren'?!? Weren't monks supposed to be respectful?!? Hey! Don't just ignore me and leave!"
But the Monk did just that, grabbing a bunch of clothes and leaving, causing the beast to release a deep sigh.
'Very few in this world would dare to speak to me like that. Hmm, it's certainly been a while since I've made a friend as well.
I look forward to hearing more about his exploits in the future...'