Chapter 363: Chapter 213: Passive Paradox
Outside the door, no one stood guard. Chen Kuang entered the Zen Room and looked at the three Great Zen Masters.
Buwen, Bujian, Buyan remained seated in meditation on their mats, their faces showing no surprise—just a peaceful smile as they met Chen Kuang’s gaze.
Buwen sighed softly and spoke slowly: "I heard the commotion just now... Xiuxin is suspicious?"
When Chen Kuang heard him say "heard," he almost subconsciously glanced at his ears, which were now just two black holes.
The divine powers of these three Great Zen Masters were contrary to their names. This Great Zen Master Buwen may be deaf, but his divine power enables him to listen to the sounds of all things.
However... Chen Kuang could guarantee that among the things he heard, there was absolutely no self-destruct or seduction from Xiuzhu.
The reason being Chen Kuang held the "Feather" character in his hand.
This so-called ability to listen to the sounds of all things precisely intersected with the Path of Space-Time and the Music Dao.
But "space" outweighed "time." Based on Chen Kuang’s current understanding of the Path of "space," it wasn’t enough to completely cover Buwen’s divine power, but he could achieve a certain degree of interference.
Thus, Chen Kuang could also confirm that Xi Mengquan’s "Dao" was indeed much higher than other Daoist Shore Realm masters.
Chen Kuang nodded and smiled: "He is so clever; naturally he can immediately perceive whether the changes in the Pure Land are good or bad."
Ever since he conceived the method of "Refining the Heart in the Mundane World" to disrupt the Pure Land’s inheritance, these three demons had already thoroughly considered him one of their own.
No wonder even Chen Kuang himself felt that this method was both sinister and treacherous, enough to destabilize the fundamental Dao Heart.
If you think this method is bad, you’re admitting you can’t withstand the trials of the mundane and are destroying your own Dao Heart.
If you think this method is good, then the so-called heart-refinement that directly hits the core desires—something even Buddha’s Sons like Xiuxin and Lion Heart in the Profound Profound Realm can’t endure—let alone other ordinary disciples.
Because the Tao of this world judges the evidence, not the heart...
The true chance of passing heart-refinement might shrink to one out of ten thousand!
Chen Kuang saw through the world’s laws of attaining the Dao, hence he proposed this method.
And anyone who can conceive of such a method could never truly align with the Pure Land.
Or, even if Chen Kuang was genuinely trying to aid the Pure Land, once the Pure Land’s monks realized it, they could no longer accept Chen Kuang and would instead treat him as a mortal enemy.
Someone who can conceive of such a method is even more like a Celestial Demon than a Celestial Demon itself... truly terrifying!
For these three demons, Chen Kuang’s move was undoubtedly a perfect pledge of allegiance.
Though, these three demons likely did not expect that Chen Kuang, who practiced the orthodox Pure Land Technique, held no sentiment for the Pure Land and didn’t mind having an additional enemy.
What he sought to save was the lives of the people outside, and as for how many in the Pure Land would die because of it, he had already made his choice and wouldn’t dwell on it.
Just as in the past at the Imperial City, he could use the lives of a few irrelevant cultivators to trade for his own survival under Shen Xingzhu’s hands.
Buwen twirled the Buddhist Beads in his hand and said: "You are a bit too hasty... but Xiuxin was destined to stand against us from the beginning."
"Whether we kill him sooner or later makes no difference."
His tone was calm, as if killing this Pure Land Buddha’s Son was like stepping on an ant.
Chen Kuang agreed: "Indeed."
Then he cleared his expression and said: "But he’s about to escape now, so I kindly ask the three Great Zen Masters to intervene and stop him."
Beside him, Bujian looked at Chen Kuang with his vacant and crowded eyes: "I have already closed the gateways in and out of the Pure Land; he can’t escape. I’ve ordered the Punishment Hall to pursue him, and combined with you and Xiuzhu, it’s sufficient."
Chen Kuang frowned, pointing to himself in surprise and hesitation: "Me? To block Xiuzhu?"
He chuckled awkwardly: "This... maybe not."
As soon as Chen Kuang uttered these words, he immediately felt something stir within him, aware that his passive ability had activated.
He honestly refused, so naturally it activated.
The matter of "blocking Xiuzhu" from this moment on could never succeed on Chen Kuang!
"Hmm?"
Buwen looked at him with a half-smile: "What, even someone like you, who isn’t fazed by the Martial Saint, can’t stop a mere Xiuzhu?"
"Listening to the heart sound of the Martial Saint when he stepped into the Bitter Sea, even while I was in the Pure Land, I heard it vividly and clearly. The highlight of the day he slain the Martial Saint wasn’t Lv Zhexiong; you were the main character."
But Chen Kuang just smiled bitterly, pretending to be a cowardly lizard in battle:
"Since the Great Zen Master has already heard everything, you should know I took a shortcut. After fighting Mu Zhao many times, I happened to become part of his Heart Demon, enough to break his Dao Heart."
"As for Xiuxin, we’ve only interacted a few times at most. I’m a mere member of the Moon Embrace Realm, not even a Grandmaster. How could I possibly stop someone in the Profound Profound Realm?"
"I came here to ask for your assistance, after all..."
Chen Kuang didn’t fear the three demons recognizing his pretense; in truth, he was indeed pretending.
This past month, in front of these three demons, he acted like a sly and deceitful villain, occasionally feeding Xiuzhu misinformation.
His current act matched his established character.
Moreover, Chen Kuang possessed the talent of being "steadfast as stone," unless he himself exposed his inner thoughts, the others couldn’t hear even a bit of it.
But in fact, whether or not the others suspected him was irrelevant.
His true trump card was his passive ability—a law of cause and effect that remained unchanged regardless of who came. As long as the other stated a request and Chen Kuang refused, it would certainly activate.
Moreover, Chen Kuang was currently too useful for a mere suspicion to warrant his demise.
Indeed, Buwen focused his gaze on Chen Kuang for a while, staring at him until he was drenched in sweat.
Beside him, Bujian spoke with an unfriendly tone:
"Will you go, or not?"
Only then did Chen Kuang breathe a sigh of relief, hastily wiping the sweat off his forehead. He conceded: "I’ll go, I’ll go, I’m leaving immediately! Yet... if I can’t stop him..."
Having refused once, agreeing afterward was the same.
The passive ability continued to activate.
Buwen sneered: "You can’t stop him; he still can’t escape the Pure Land, so what’s there to fear?"
These three demons were increasingly blatant before him.
Chen Kuang exited the Zen Room, immediately heading off as swiftly as possible towards the direction indicated by the three demons.
Indeed, Xiuxin couldn’t break free from the Pure Land’s seal, but... Chen Kuang could.
[Body Unbound: You can move freely under any circumstance, going to any place you’ve been before; no one can confine you.]
Chen Kuang’s eyes flashed.
Since he was able to leave while Xiuxin couldn’t, theoretically, Chen Kuang could stop Xiuxin without doing anything.
He only needed to step out of the Pure Land to trigger a paradox.
And the [Refusal to Comply] passive ability would certainly prevent this scenario from occurring.
Either it would prevent Chen Kuang from exiting the Pure Land—an impossibility because it conflicted with another passive ability.
Therefore, only one possibility remained.
No matter the circumstances, Xiuxin will definitely be able to leave the Pure Land!
