Chapter 88: Everyone Is a Villain

After Mo Lin used the Soul-Respecting Banner to launch a sneak attack on Wuzhen, the Mountain Lord, stripped of one layer of illusion, immediately felt his aura surge.

His physical qualities were unrivaled on the battlefield.

He had only hated that the illusions prevented him from fully unleashing his might.

Now, freed from one layer of illusion, both Jingchen and Zhu Dongfeng felt an increase in pressure.

Seeing the situation on the battlefield shift into a state where the Mountain Lord was at a slight disadvantage, but not on the verge of collapse, Mo Lin quietly withdrew.

He was going to deal with Wuzhen, who had left the battlefield.

Following the aura trail left by Wuzhen, Mo Lin discovered that he was heading in the direction of the Child-Giving Temple.

Could this old bald donkey really be going to the Child-Giving Temple now?

What business would he have there at this moment?

Could it be that he had hidden some miraculous medicine in the temple, something that could swiftly restore his vitality?

Curiosity got the better of Mo Lin.

He decided not to kill him immediately, but to wait and see whether Wuzhen truly had some treasure hidden inside the Child-Giving Temple.

......

Wuzhen was furious.

According to his original plan, after luring Jingchen, he should have used the Purple Crystal Dragon Ore as bait to make Jingchen and the Mountain Lord fight.

If the Mountain Lord lost, then with the Purple Crystal Dragon Ore as an offering, the White Horse Temple would surely forgive him for his past transgressions.

If Jingchen died, then the Golden Circlet would become completely his.

He would no longer have to live in constant fear of when Jingchen might come looking for him.

Of course, in Wuzhen’s eyes, the best ending was that both Jingchen and the Mountain Lord would be seriously injured, while he protected himself with the Golden Circlet, ultimately becoming the biggest winner, gaining both the Golden Circlet and the Purple Crystal Dragon Ore.

However, in truth, he was merely a Profound Rank Upper-Grade cultivator.

For him to act this way was no different from bargaining with a tiger.

Thus, he had prepared a backup plan with the Black Bear of the Profound Rank, intending to use him as a scapegoat.

But who could have predicted that the Mountain Lord would learn of his scheme in advance? His prepared scapegoat had been killed before him.

That left him no choice but to personally fight the Mountain Lord.

Just now, in a brief moment of distraction, he had suffered a grievous injury.

Thinking back, he could not even recall why his mind had gone blank like that—truly strange.

Wuzhen shook his head to clear away stray thoughts.

No matter what, now the Mountain Lord was entangled in a deadly struggle with Jingchen and the suddenly intervening Silver-Ringed Blade wielder.

No one had time to concern themselves with him.

This was the best opportunity for him to heal.

He stopped walking, and before him loomed his own Child-Giving Temple.

Because everything had happened so suddenly, the female worshippers inside the temple had no idea their abbot had just gone out to fight.

They still wandered within the temple.

Seeing the women coming and going, Wuzhen smiled.

He took a deep breath:

“Hss~ah~”

Even though he knew he could not possibly smell the women’s fragrance from here, he felt as if his injuries had already eased somewhat.

Wuzhen donned the serene expression he always wore as abbot and walked slowly into the temple:

“Female benefactors, this humble monk has come.”

After Wuzhen stepped into the Child-Giving Temple, Mo Lin, still only the size of a grass snake, poked his head out from the fallen leaves nearby:

“This lustful monk… could it be that even now, he intends to commit vile acts?”

......

Xiangling was a woman from the nearby Geda Village.

Two years ago, she had married Wang Shilei from the neighboring village.

Though he labored day and night in the fields, her womb had remained barren.

Rumors began to spread: that Wang was impotent, that the couple’s relationship was strained.

These rumors brought endless distress to Xiangling’s family.

At this time, she heard that on a nearby mountain stood a Child-Giving Temple.

If one listened to the abbot’s sutra chanting, the Bodhisattva would show mercy and personally grant a child.

Troubled by the rumors, Xiangling came to the temple in desperation.

She met the abbot:

“Abbot.”

She bowed to Wuzhen, then asked:

“Didn’t Abbot just retire to the backyard with Master Jingchen to rest? Why have you come through the front door?”

In her eyes, Wuzhen no longer bore his earlier disheveled appearance.

His tattered robes, once shredded in battle, were as good as new, covering his body.

Even the earlobe the Mountain Lord had torn off had regrown, and his long earlobes once again draped over his shoulders.

Wuzhen chanted, “Amitabha,” but did not answer her question:

“This humble monk dares to guess that the benefactress has come seeking aid?”

At these words, Xiangling forgot her small suspicion and quickly explained:

“Abbot Wuzhen, I have been married for three years without conceiving.

I heard your chanting has divine effect, and the Bodhisattva responds to your prayers.

So I have come to the Child-Giving Temple, sincerely begging you to chant sutras for me, to grant me the blessing of a child.”

Wuzhen smiled:

“Amitabha. The sincerity of the benefactress can move heaven and earth. Please follow me into the Pure Chamber. After incense is burned and purification is performed, the Buddha’s light may enter your body.”

He turned and gestured for her to follow.

Xiangling’s heart leapt with joy, and she hurried after him.

Inside the Pure Chamber, the scent of incense lingered.

Xiangling sat cross-legged in the center with pious devotion, while Wuzhen sat opposite her.

Unlike other temples, Wuzhen’s Pure Chamber never shunned witnesses.

He always allowed others to be present during the chanting, so soon many women gathered outside:

“They say Abbot Wuzhen is chanting right now?”

“Yes, he’s praying for that woman, helping her to conceive.”

“How fortunate! Alas, we can only listen from outside.

His rule has always been that he chants for one person at a time.”

Just as the women sighed with regret, Wuzhen turned his head, smiled slightly, and said:

“Amitabha. Today, since my master visits and the Buddha’s affinity is strong, I shall make an exception. All female benefactors who wish for my chanting and blessings may enter.”

The women rejoiced and quickly sat down:

“Amitabha, thank you, Abbot.”

Nearly ten female worshippers entered and sat in the Pure Chamber.

Wuzhen’s smile widened.

He lit incense.

Soon, both those seated inside and those outside listening grew drowsy.

In their eyes, the pure and immaculate Abbot Wuzhen sat cross-legged, chanting sutras to bless them.

But only Mo Lin, coiled above in the Pure Chamber, saw through the illusion.

The truth: gravely injured, with only one earlobe left, Wuzhen had already torn off the last scraps of his robes.

Naked, he stood before them.

Not one woman noticed him.

They let him wander freely, even as he stripped them bare, completely unaware.

Wuzhen smiled:

“Amitabha. Benefactresses, I have long fulfilled your wish to bear children. Today, I am in peril. Surely you are willing to lend me your aid?”

“With the benefactresses here, my wounds will soon recover.”

Seeing the reality, Mo Lin cursed inwardly:

The Black Bear had cursed Wuzhen as a lustful monk, and indeed he had not been wrong! If Mo Lin’s eyes did not deceive him, this monk was about to perform dual-cultivation absorption with these women to heal his wounds!

And Mo Lin had thought Wuzhen had hidden some rare treasure in the Child-Giving Temple.

Who would have guessed he had instead hidden a group of living, walking, human-shaped energy sources!