CHAPTER 276: CHAPTER 276 SUTRA OF SALVATION

The attendant thought to himself, "This monk is truly bold. Having heard of my young master’s reputation, how dare he come knocking? Has he never heard of the notorious Wang Family of Lingquan Town?"

But just as he was about to reprimand the monk, he met the monk’s gentle gaze. The attendant, who usually bullied and abused the locals under the young master’s command, found himself unable to utter a single curse.

The young master was a Daoist, and as his attendant, he could neither believe in Buddhism nor dare to.

He felt no trace of fear.

Yet, as he looked into the monk’s eyes, he sensed something indescribable.

If he had to describe it, he could only recall the word often spoken by wandering monks who came to his home seeking alms and were driven away—Buddha-nature.

In these chaotic times, monks seemed to be increasing in number for some unknown reason.

The attendant said, "Wait here, I’ll go inform him."

"Thank you."

The attendant hurried back, only then realizing that the main gate behind him was left open. He regretted it and, seeing the young master’s frown, he shuddered and quickly said, "Young master, there’s a monk outside who seems strange and is here to see you."

"To see me? What for?" Wang Hanwen thought hard and recalled that the only interaction he ever had with monks was when he traveled with his master two years ago and seduced a naive young nun at a nunnery.

"He said he wants to perform a ritual of salvation for you."

"For me?" Wang Hanwen chuckled. "Bring him in. There is indeed someone here who needs salvation, but it’s not me, it’s this Young Master Li."

He then glanced at Ao Yu, whose snowy neck and delicate chest were reflected in his irises like glistening waves. His Adam’s apple moved noticeably faster, like a hungry dog staring at a freshly hung lamb’s ribs in a butcher shop.

Wang Hanwen smirked. "My beauty, how about we let the monk chant the Sutra of Salvation for us while we enjoy ourselves? The thought of it excites me with its novelty."

Ao Yu’s face turned icy, and she said not a word, but a killing intent covered her eyes like a layer of frosty snow.

Wang Hanwen was taken aback, but before he could think through the situation, the young man beside her spoke, "Your tongue is superfluous. Allow me to cut it off so it won’t bring disaster to you in the future."

As soon as he finished his sentence, Wang Hanwen felt a rush of iron taste in his mouth and spat out a large amount of blood, with half a tongue leaping out amidst it.

No one saw what had happened.

Wang Hanwen didn’t see it either.

Only Ao Yu did.

She was just a step away from entering the Golden Immortal Realm and understood the laws of the Heaven and Earth Dao clearly.

Wang Hanwen carried a flying sword of the Golden Immortal Realm, yet Nezha conjured a flying sword using the laws of the Heaven and Earth Dao, faster than the Primordial Spirit!

Nezha’s move was so swift that even she, to resist it, would have to exhaust all her strength, let alone Wang Hanwen.

The concubines and attendants behind Wang Hanwen trembled in fear at the sight of his blood-spitting.

The surrounding Wang Family’s bandits holding swords and blades had their pupils shrink to pinpoints.

Even the most foolish among them realized something at this moment.

The young man and woman before them, daringly striding into the Wang Family’s domain and faced with their weapons without a hint of fear, weren’t fools. Their skills were formidable.

This young man turned out to be a Cultivator!

Wang Hanwen didn’t expect this. He stared at the pool of blood on the ground, with steam still rising from it, and felt a wave of dizziness.

His tongue was gone.

The darkness on Nezha’s face melted away like snow in the sun, simply because he saw the monk before him.

The monk also saw Nezha and Ao Yu.

He then saw the blood and tongue on the ground and looked at Wang Hanwen.

Without anyone explaining, he nearly guessed the whole story.

Wu Xiang Monk lowered his head, closed his eyes, and showed a painful expression. "What suffering."

Nezha smiled, "Good thing the suffering is his, not ours."

Wu Xiang Monk said, "You are amidst boundless suffering, yet you don’t realize it."

Nezha said, "Monk, you’re so stubborn. He dominated the area, committed all kinds of evil, and now he wants to come at me. Should I not kill him? Doesn’t he deserve death?"

Wu Xiang Monk said, "That’s precisely why I’m here."

"What do you intend to do?"

"Use Buddhist Law to offer him salvation."

Nezha laughed, "Your Buddhist Law is quite profound indeed."

Wu Xiang sighed, "Leave the rest to me. Don’t commit any more killings."

"If you hadn’t told me to intervene, I wouldn’t have bothered. Anyway, long time no see, Monk."

"Long time no see, Nezha."

Wu Xiang finally smiled a little.

With that smile, all the servants and maids, the masters and mistresses, and even the ruthless bandits felt a breath of fresh air, their bodies and minds relaxed.

Even Wang Hanwen, who had just been tongueless, felt his pain fade away.

But this didn’t bring him any joy, only fear.

He realized that the other’s ability to do this wasn’t due to great kindness or a deep understanding of the sutras.

It was simply that the monk was also a Cultivator.

Did I not check the almanac before going out today?

First, I ran into this strange pair, then a powerful monk arrives at my doorstep claiming to save me.

Wait, what were those words after ’long time no see’?

Did they say...Nezha?

Nezha!

Only then did Wang Hanwen realize how doomed he was, as if plunged into an icy abyss.

Nezha.

In the past two years, the name Nezha had resounded throughout Xiqi City and across ancient battlefields. The illustrious General of Xiqi, Nezha.

Years ago, in Lingquan Town, he wielded a saber and killed Feng Xiaonian in the middle of the street.

Single-handedly stormed the Imperial City, defying and beheading the Emperor—the world’s most notorious criminal!

Only now did Wang Hanwen want to beg for mercy.

But with his tongue gone, he couldn’t speak.

The surrounding bandits broke out in a cold sweat.

They had also heard of Nezha. Normally, they wouldn’t dare provoke him, even if they had ten lives to spare.

But today was different.

They already had.

Despite all the mystical tales they had heard, they still lacked enough experience. In their simple worldview, any human was still flesh and blood, and blades would make them bleed and cry. So even though they were nervous, they gripped their swords even tighter.

The atmosphere grew increasingly tense, poised to erupt into a bloodbath at the slightest provocation.

Yet, it was Wu Xiang Monk who spoke first.

His deep, resonant voice filled the space. As he spoke, wild grasses forced their way through the gaps in the stone-paved ground, blooming into small white flowers one after another.

"To save a person is not merely to save the body but to transcend karma as massive as Mount Sumeru crumbling upon a mustard seed. At the birth of chaos, the Supreme Mother birthed a nine-colored deer from her left rib. The deer’s antlers bore the twelve links of dependent origination, its hooves imprinted the paths to liberation.

Observe the white light at the tip of the nose, truly the essence of stars fallen since time immemorial. A single thought of greed causes the North Star to fall and the Milky Way to reverse; a single thought of compassion brings forth golden lotuses, disbanding the realm of hungry ghosts.

In the fire of the three poisons lies the wisdom of observation; within the toxins of the seven emotions nurtures the nature of the Dharma realm. Cultivators should fish out the non-empty mysterious pearl from the depths of the Alaya Sea, reflecting the cosmos in a dewdrop, illuminating reincarnation like a flash of lightning..."

"The Sutra of Salvation?" Ao Yu was surprised. She had read various widely circulated Buddhist texts, including the Sutra of Salvation, but these plain words from the young monk eased even her rising killing intent.

Her Primordial Spirit condensed, yet even so, this was the state. It was even more so for the bandits surrounding them.

They had already thrown away their swords and knives with loud clangs, lying on the ground and weeping, repenting their life’s misdeeds in front of Wu Xiang Monk.

As he finished his chant, Wang Hanlin, a fellow Cultivator, sincerely knelt before Wu Xiang, seeking to join the monastic order, and asking Wu Xiang to ordain him.