Chapter 361: Chapter 211: Besiege Wei to Rescue Zhao
Xiuxin froze upon hearing the words, his pupils tightened.
He furrowed his brow, his expression suddenly becoming extremely serious, and suddenly he surveyed Xiuzhu before him with a very unfamiliar, cold gaze:
"Who are you?! Junior Brother Xiuzhu would never say such things!"
Xiuzhu was momentarily startled, somewhat bewildered as he raised his hand to touch his own head:
"What are you talking about, Senior Brother... Did I not speak the truth?"
His tone was filled with confusion, seemingly not understanding why Xiuxin suddenly felt that he was no longer Xiuzhu.
Xiuxin looked at Xiuzhu before him suspiciously, seeing that his demeanor was no different from usual, he suddenly found himself a bit unsure.
Could it be... that the words just now were simply a slip of the tongue by Junior Brother? A momentary lapse?
This Junior Brother Xiuzhu, being quite young, indeed has no ulterior motives usually, speaks frankly, and it’s entirely possible he was just speaking too hastily for a moment.
Xiuxin pondered for a moment, feeling he might have overthought it after all, since even the three Great Zen Masters hadn’t noticed anything unusual about this Junior Brother Xiuzhu...
Perhaps it was just that he was too tense just now and misunderstood.
Xiuxin had to temporarily set aside his suspicions and instructed:
"Junior Brother, from now on, you must never speak like this again, otherwise, if others suspect you of harboring intentions to harm the three Great Zen Masters..."
Suddenly, Xiuzhu laughed, his laughter extraordinarily sinister:
"If that’s the case, then what?"
Xiuxin’s body trembled, his heart jolted, suddenly realizing that Xiuzhu was actually playing tricks on him!
Although the Xiuzhu before him hadn’t changed on the outside, his whole aura and gaze were completely different now, exceeding even his appearance, such that one glance was enough to tell he was not the original Xiuzhu at all!
Xiuxin’s face fell, clutching the Buddhist Beads tightly in his hand, muscles on his arm bulging, clearly ready to act at any moment.
He asked once more: "Who exactly are you?!"
Xiuzhu laughed: "What nonsense is Senior Brother Xiuxin saying? I am naturally Xiuzhu, the Pure Land Buddha’s Son, as the three Great Zen Masters admitted themselves, could that be false?"
Xiuxin was both shocked and angry: "You usurped Xiuzhu?"
Xiuzhu said: "If I were an old monster that usurped, how could the three Great Zen Masters be completely unaware? Alas, I’ve said it, I am Xiuzhu, why would Senior Brother Xiuxin say such things?"
He first sighed, then his face changed, muttering to himself:
"Could it be... Senior Brother Xiuxin is the one who has been mentally overtaken?!"
Upon hearing this, Xiuxin immediately realized Xiuzhu’s intention and couldn’t help but chuckle angrily:
"You want to falsely accuse me in pure land with mere words?"
Among the Pure Land monks, those who have cultivated to the Middle Three Grades, about a third have learned Telepathy. Monks from the Punishment Hall are especially proficient in divine abilities like this, and can immediately tell whether one’s words are sincere!
Attempting to falsely accuse someone in Pure Land, especially Xiuxin—currently the highest cultivated Buddha’s Son in Pure Land—is utterly ludicrous!
Xiuzhu smiled even more strangely:
"Oh dear, oh dear, how can it be? Is that how foolish you think I am in Senior Brother’s mind?"
"Of course, I wouldn’t let this matter be exposed under everyone’s nose... A Buddha’s Son suspected of being usurped, the only ones qualified for judgment on such matters are the three Great Zen Masters themselves!"
Ha, laughable!
Something that inherently has no possibility of successful entrapment, passing it on to the three Great Zen Masters to judge doesn’t increase its chance of success!
It’s certainly even less likely!
This guy who usurped Xiuzhu is truly brainless!
Xiuxin snorted, just about to refute, but suddenly a terrifying thought flashed in his mind—
To usurp Xiuzhu, a Buddha’s Son protected by relics, and who has possibly been lurking within Pure Land for an unknown span, could he truly lack intelligence?
Impossible.
Then why did he just intentionally present himself in such an flawed manner, and why involve the three Great Zen Masters?
Could he truly not know that acting like this would only lead to self-destruction?
It seemed there was only one possibility left.
The most unlikely possibility.
Xiuxin’s face was ever-changing, he thought of the recent strange behavior of the Great Zen Masters, his heart wavering slightly, but ultimately, he looked toward Xiuzhu before him, took a deep breath, and said solemnly:
"You wish to provoke me into doubting the Great Zen Masters, to corrupt my Dao Heart? I tell you, that’s impossible!"
Xiuzhu laughed aloud: "Impossible?"
His eyes suddenly shone fiercely, leapt up, and struck at Xiuxin:
"Once you reach the presence of the three Great Zen Masters, you will naturally know if it’s possible!"
Knowing the opponent meant harm, Xiuxin, in the absence of clarifying the opponent’s purpose, did not intend to rashly receive the strike, raised his hand to defuse it and escape immediately afterward.
But in the next moment, he found the strike extremely bizarre.
In the palm of Xiuzhu, a crack suddenly split open, and then, unexpectedly, a blood-red eye opened!
That eye didn’t resemble a human’s eye, rather composed of countless eyes shaped like an insect’s compound eyes, dense and extremely terrifying!
Xiuxin just glanced at it, and his consciousness was suddenly blurred.
In an instant, he seemed to return to when he was still a mortal, at that time, he had yet to inherit the title Xiuxin, merely the son of a wealthy family near Great Zhou’s border, named Master Wenxuan.
The Great Zhou Imperial City was extremely prosperous, a true land of thriving bliss, but at the border, it was continuously affected by the night barbarians’ warfare. Although not yet at the point of destitution, it did breed numerous bandit troubles.
That year, Master Wenxuan was twenty-three, merely out seeking pleasure, an evening later when he returned home, he found that his family of more than sixty had mostly been slaughtered by bandits who had raided down the mountain, and the women had all been taken to the mountain fortress.
Master Wenxuan charged up the mountain wildly, even before reaching the fortress gate, he was already exhausted to the point of losing consciousness, stumbling off a cliff.
Fortunately, he didn’t die.
Of course, he wasn’t extraordinarily lucky like in the stories, where he found a Martial Arts manual or such.
Beneath the cliff was precisely the bandits’ mass burial ground.
Within, Master Wenxuan found the fragmented remains of his mother and sister...
Xiuxin trembled all over, under the golden light of the relic shining in his mind, he immediately regained clarity.
That was... his Heart Demon!
Xiuzhu’s strike, though not yet landing on him, had already triggered the karma of his Heart Demon!
Xiuxin regained his clarity, but his eyes tightened. In the moment he had lost consciousness, his body had already uncontrollably retaliated towards Xiuzhu!
But Xiuzhu didn’t resist, instead he fled outside, avoiding in embarrassment, shouting:
"Help! Senior Brother Xiuxin has been usurped!"
...
Chen Kuang’s plan was simple, it was to play out a scheme akin to defending Wei and rescuing Zhao.
Now that the two of them had already convinced the three demons, they could absolutely not leave the Pure Land before the three demons achieved certain objectives.
If so, then it was necessary to find a steadfast and wiser person, first shaping him into the enemy of the entire Pure Land, to create an opportunity, letting him out!
To take the message outside that Pure Land had already become a Demon Cave!
