Chapter 386: Arhat’s True Form

“Roar!”

Suddenly, a tiger’s roar shook the heavens and earth. A gigantic golden tiger abruptly appeared behind the middle-aged Confucian scholar. Taken completely by surprise, the scholar was bitten on the back of his neck by the tiger. The intense pain forced him to abandon Shui Miao and attempt to cast a spell to escape. However, at the very moment he began his incantation, the tiger flew back into Hui Neng’s body. Hui Neng then ran over and hugged the scholar from behind, proceeding to grope him up and down…

“Vile bald monk, you, you, you… how dare you treat me so disrespectfully!”

The middle-aged scholar, possessing a celestial soul body, merely felt a little pain from the tiger’s bite before quickly recovering.

However, being groped by Hui Neng was an unbearable humiliation to him. How could a mere mortal monk dare to desecrate a celestial deity?

Ignoring the scholar’s furious shouting, after groping him a few times, Hui Neng suddenly gathered his energy and punched the scholar hard in the abdomen. The blow made the scholar grimace in pain, clutching his stomach as he staggered backward.

“Little brother, are you alright? My senior master sent me to rescue you.”

Hui Neng hurriedly helped Shui Miao up. Shui Miao had been injured from being grabbed, his bones aching so badly he couldn’t even stand.

“How is this possible? Vile bald monk, you’re just an ordinary mortal yet you managed to hurt me?” The scholar caught his breath, suddenly flicked his folding fan, instantly transporting both Shui Miao and Hui Neng to a strange place. Every inch of this place was white. “Hmm! Now let’s see where you can run. Today, I’ll make sure you wish you were dead!”

“Master Hui Neng, you shouldn’t have come,” Shui Miao weakly said, holding Hui Neng’s hand. “This fellow is a manifestation of the Infinite Celestial Venerable’s divine spirit. We can’t possibly defeat him. It’s all my fault; I dragged you into this.”

“Don’t worry!”

Hui Neng pounded his chest, declaring proudly, “My senior master said I’m the reincarnation of the mighty tiger under the Bodhisattva of Taming the Tiger. I’m a tiger deity blessed by the Buddha himself. He can’t hurt me.” Hui Neng grinned, pointing at the scholar. “Hey you, whatever your name is, manifestation or whatever, my senior master told me to tell you that Shui Miao is a divine spirit personally created by the Buddha. You have no right to touch him. If you dare harm him, you’ll have to ask the gods of our Buddhist paradise whether they’ll allow it.”

“The Buddha?”

The middle-aged scholar sneered. “Stupid bald monk, do you even know who the Infinite Celestial Venerable is? My master is the oldest deity in this world. He was already a celestial deity when Pangu created the heavens and earth. You dare use the Buddha to intimidate me? Have you hit too many wooden fish and turned your head into one?”

“Dare you insult me! I’ll kill you!”

Hui Neng, straightforward by nature, suddenly roared and lunged at the middle-aged scholar.

“Clumsy fool! You dare challenge me? Show me what you’ve got first!” The scholar opened his folding fan and waved it fiercely. Suddenly, a figure appeared before him, an exact replica of Hui Neng, except wearing a black monk’s robe.

“What’s going on? Who, who are you?”

Hui Neng was momentarily confused.

“I’m you! Idiot, can’t you even recognize yourself anymore?” The black-robed Hui Neng sneered darkly.

“Hehe, since time flows a hundred times slower in this Qiankun Realm, practically frozen, I have plenty of time to torment you. Allow me to explain so you can die convinced.”

The middle-aged scholar, a manifestation of the Infinite Celestial Venerable’s divine spirit, had his mood completely changed by the foolish Hui Neng. His sense of superiority, his intellectual dominance, and the privilege of deciding life and death made him feel triumphant and contemptuous toward Hui Neng. Thus, he patiently began to explain the secrets of the Qiankun Realm to Hui Neng, seeking psychological satisfaction from Hui Neng’s fear.

Meanwhile, at Xingguo Temple, things were not as peaceful as the middle-aged scholar imagined.

In the Arhat Hall, Master Liao Chen and his two junior brothers still sat in meditation, while other monks continued to strike wooden fish.

Indeed, Master Liao Chen had once again entered a meditative state.

Suddenly, Liao Chen opened his eyes, raised his hand, and the monks stopped chanting. He then turned to Liao Kong and Liao Yuan, saying, “Things are not as simple as they seem. Now Shui Miao is in danger, and we must find a way to help him. Hui En, come here…”

Hui En was startled and quickly put down the wooden fish to approach. “Senior Master, you called me?”

“Yes!”

Master Liao Chen nodded. “Go fetch half a bucket of water. Remember, it must be the same water you prepared to water Shui Miao during the day. I have a use for it.”

“Ah…”

Hui En was shocked. That water was mixed with urine, essentially dirty water. How could it be brought into the Arhat Hall?

Master Liao Chen waved his hand. “Hurry up! Every minute you delay, Hui Neng and Shui Miao face greater danger.”

“Yes, yes!”

Hui En, though usually mischievous, had a good heart. Thinking of his senior brothers being in mortal danger, he forgot everything else and focused only on completing the task quickly to save lives.

“Senior brother, you said Shui Miao is in danger. What exactly is happening?” Liao Yuan looked puzzled at Liao Chen. “That middle-aged scholar is refined and elegant, a celestial being who helped us regain our youth, giving us decades more of life. With him around, how could Shui Miao be in danger?”

“Junior brother, one must not judge by appearances alone. What good people say isn’t necessarily true, and what bad people say isn’t necessarily false. That scholar’s words seemed truthful but were actually lies. Our rejuvenation is merely an illusion.” Master Liao Chen gently shook his head and looked at Abbot Liao Kong. “Senior brother, I just saw in my meditation that Shui Miao and Hui Neng were taken by that middle-aged scholar to a mysterious space called the Qiankun Realm. He intends to slowly torture them to death. This matter is serious. I’d like to ask Senior Brother and Liao Yuan to use your powers to support me so I can enter a meditative state and go to Mount Ling to seek the Buddha’s help to rescue them.”

Liao Kong Abbot and Liao Yuan possessed powers but had been hiding them, reluctant to use them.

Now, Master Liao Chen had severely depleted his powers and had no choice but to seek help from his senior and junior brothers.

“Senior brother, it’s only natural for you to want to save lives, and we’re willing to help. Still, I have my doubts. You say our rejuvenation is an illusion, but we clearly have become younger!” Liao Yuan was a practical person. He suspected that Liao Chen, due to excessive power consumption, had become delusional, speaking nonsense that would mislead everyone.

Looking at his junior brother Liao Yuan, Master Liao Chen said seriously, “Junior brother, I knew you would say that. Given your concerns, I had Hui En fetch water. This water is mixed with the monks’ urine. Since the monks are all celibate, their urine can break the illusion of the celestial being, revealing our true appearances.”

…

Upon hearing this, Master Liao Yuan was stunned. He hadn’t expected his senior brother to be so calculating, anticipating even his thoughts!

At this moment, Hui En, carrying the wooden bucket, had already arrived outside the Arhat Hall.

Master Liao Chen asked him to stop, then channeled his power, wrapping a stream of energy around the bucket into the hall, breaking the illusion on everyone.

Seeing himself turned back into an old man, Liao Yuan flew into a rage: “Damn it! That vile Taoist priest dared to mock us! No! He’s mocking our Buddhist sect, thinking us weak!”

The rivalry between Buddhism and Taoism had long existed, though it had mostly been a covert struggle without open confrontation.

“Saving lives is the priority. Let’s begin.”

Abbot Liao Kong was brief but effective.

“Alright!”

Liao Yuan immediately sat down and began channeling his full power.

Master Liao Chen nodded approvingly and immediately sat down, entering a meditative state, reaching the Buddhist paradise, instantly arriving at the sacred land of Ling.

As Master Liao Chen’s consciousness reached Ling, he saw a formidable martial monk with an imposing presence, a muscular and terrifying figure practicing martial arts. This martial monk looked exactly like the Taming-the-Tiger Arhat in Xingguo Temple’s Great Hero Hall. Thinking that the Buddha might have sent the Taming-the-Tiger Arhat to wait for him, Master Liao Chen hurriedly approached to pay his respects.

After paying homage, the Taming-the-Tiger Arhat stopped his practice, turned to Master Liao Chen, and after bowing, directly asked, “Have you come to save lives?”

“Indeed!” Master Liao Chen’s heart was filled with excitement as he nodded quickly.

The Taming-the-Tiger Arhat smiled slightly. “Indeed! Haha, but we cannot rashly provoke a conflict between Buddhism and Taoism. However, if he dares to kill Hui Neng, the reincarnation of the Tiger God, then I can step in and show him the might of our Buddhist warrior monks.”

“Disciple has a question and humbly seeks guidance from the warrior monk!” Master Liao Chen had long suspected Hui Neng’s origins, and now was finally the time to ask.

“Hehe, you want to know why the Tiger God was reincarnated as Hui Neng, right?” The Taming-the-Tiger Arhat smiled and telepathically conveyed the truth to Master Liao Chen.

Upon learning the truth, Master Liao Chen was instantly filled with excitement.

“Then, how do we save them?” Master Liao Chen was concerned, not wanting to provoke a conflict between Buddhism and Taoism.

“This is easy. Just destroy his Qiankun Realm and wound him.” The Taming-the-Tiger Arhat smiled faintly. “He is a manifestation of a divine spirit, while I am the true body of the warrior monk. I cannot easily reveal myself, lest the Taoist gods accuse us of ganging up on him. I will possess your body to rescue the Tiger God’s spirit.”

“Rescuing the Tiger God’s spirit is enough? Won’t we kill him? If we don’t kill him, won’t Shui Miao still be pursued?” Master Liao Chen was very confused, feeling that the Taming-the-Tiger Arhat only wanted to go and injure the middle-aged scholar to avenge Hui Neng, without any intention of saving Shui Miao.

“Hehe, heavenly secrets cannot be revealed. You will understand in time.”

With that, the Taming-the-Tiger Arhat and Master Liao Chen disappeared in a flash. Master Liao Chen returned from his meditation, opened his eyes, stood up, and walked directly outside, loudly proclaiming, “I’m going to save them. You all go back and rest.”