Chapter 131: White Horse Spies on the Anaconda
In the Western Grand Division, the First Seat Huixin was ranked as the head among the heads, temporarily acting as abbot to lead all the monks of the temple in cultivation, holding the meditation hall command banner and wielding the authority of command.
West Hall Huineng presided over daily Dharma activities, oversaw the monks’ examinations, and at the same time assisted the abbot and the First Seat in formulating the temple’s development plans.
Rear Hall Huilian supervised the practical cultivation affairs of the meditation hall, took charge of the transmission of sect tradition and correction of cultivation deviations, and at times had to act temporarily as hall master when the First Seat was absent.
And the Hall Master, namely Huizhen, was responsible for the circulation of scriptures, guiding the monks in their basic training, and maintaining the meditation hall’s Dharma artifacts.
Dharma artifacts fell precisely under his jurisdiction.
Thus, faced with the gazes of several senior brothers, Huizhen stretched out his hand and summoned forth a pagoda identical to the Qudeng Buddha Pagoda destroyed by Mo Lin.
Yet the aura radiating from this pagoda was far beyond what Qudeng could compare to.
This was a Heaven-Rank Artifact!
Yes, strictly speaking, what Jingyue had taken away was not truly an Earth-Rank Artifact belonging to the White Horse Temple, but rather a fragment of a Heaven-Rank Artifact.
Jingyue’s pagoda had split off from this pagoda in Huizhen’s hand. And it was precisely because the Qudeng Pagoda originated as a part of a Heaven-Rank Artifact that it could, even as an Earth-Rank Artifact, give birth to a rare Artifact Spirit.
Due to Qudeng’s soul being born, a bond tighter than that of other artifacts existed between the two pagodas, a bond that could not be severed even by death.
Hall Master Huizhen rotated the Heaven-Rank Pagoda in his hand, and in the next instant, a screen-like layer appeared before the Western Grand Division and Huizhi.
What unfolded upon the screen was none other than the scene where Qudeng emerged from the pagoda and conversed with Mo Lin!
“Indeed, I am the true body of the pagoda’s Artifact Spirit—Qudeng at your service.”
“......”
“Do you even know the weight of value an Earth-Rank Artifact gains once it gives birth to an Artifact Spirit?”
“......”
“I can shield you from spiritual assaults. If you keep me by your side, someone like Jingyue will never again so easily make a move against you.”
The Western Grand Division listened quietly to Qudeng’s pitiful plea toward Mo Lin, their expressions less than pleasant.
Although they had not seen the scene of Mo Lin killing Jingyue, from Qudeng’s last words, they had already obtained the information they needed:
Jingyue had used a Soul Technique to launch a sneak attack against the anaconda demon before them, yet somehow the attempt had failed, and Jingyue had instead been slain by the anaconda demon, while the Qudeng Pagoda had fallen into Mo Lin’s hands.
Mo Lin had never expected that, in order to prevent more of its secrets from being exposed, it chose decisively to destroy the useful Qudeng Pagoda—yet still failed to guard against the methods of the White Horse Temple.
In its attempt to uncover more intelligence, it had instead revealed a considerable portion of its own secrets to the monks of White Horse Temple.
Still, it ought to feel fortunate that the segment Qudeng transmitted contained only the dialogue between Mo Lin and Qudeng, and not those matters within Jingyue’s dream.
If those matters too had been revealed to the monks of White Horse Temple, then Mo Lin would be left with virtually no secrets at all.
Of course, now that the Western Grand Division knew of the existence of the anaconda demon Mo Lin, their expressions were far from good.
For Qudeng, in order to preserve itself, had betrayed Jingyue without hesitation and shamelessly peddled its own worth.
Seeing this, Huizhi eased the atmosphere:
“Fellow brothers are well aware that Qudeng’s soul is bound to Senior Brother Huizhen’s pagoda. In other words, Qudeng surely knows that all his actions are under Senior Brother Huizhen’s awareness.”
“His behavior must have been nothing more than a ploy to earn the trust of the anaconda demon, so that in time he might aid our temple in capturing it.”
Although the Western Grand Division all understood that Qudeng acted primarily for self-preservation, their expressions softened somewhat—
No matter what, with Jingyue dead, White Horse Temple would inevitably learn of it. Qudeng’s actions, once exposed, would make it so that following by the anaconda demon’s side, it could indeed serve as a help in seeking out the foe.
Qudeng himself must have considered this point.
Therefore, once their expressions calmed, they continued watching.
What they saw next was Qudeng spilling information about the Heavenly Flood Dragon in full, even disclosing matters of the White Horse Temple’s Heaven-Rank monk’s fall in realm. At this, Rear Hall Huilian furrowed his brows:
“Qudeng was tricked by this anaconda demon.”
Huizhen nodded.
With their years of cultivation wisdom, it was natural for them to discern that the anaconda demon was deliberately probing for information. Pity that Qudeng’s intelligence was newly formed, and he had failed to see through it.
Sure enough, the next scene showed the anaconda demon Mo Lin inquiring in detail about Yinrong of the Western Regions, which caused the monks of White Horse Temple to fall into contemplation.
“Since that White Horse Temple monk was also Heaven-Rank… did he perhaps inflict any harm upon the Flood Dragon, and then take something from it? For example, its heart’s blood?”
West Hall Huineng intoned a Buddha’s name:
“Amitabha. This anaconda demon desires the heart’s blood of a Heavenly Flood Dragon? For what purpose?”
Rear Hall Huilian replied:
“Most likely to step into the Heaven-Rank. After all, these wild demonic beasts lack sufficient resources, so they can only cultivate haphazardly. Seeking the heart’s blood of a superior beast might allow them to better grasp their future path.”
The division heads all nodded, acknowledging Huilian’s judgment.
Yet Hall Master Huizhen raised a doubt:
“But this humble monk feels that rather than probing for information on Heavenly Flood Dragons in general, this anaconda demon seemed more concerned with Yinrong in particular.”
Recalling Mo Lin and Qudeng’s conversation, the division heads agreed with Huizhen’s assessment:
“It does appear greatly interested in Yinrong.”
As for why Mo Lin was interested in Yinrong, they could not infer, for they lacked further intelligence.
“But in this way, perhaps Qudeng truly can win the anaconda demon’s trust, so that in future our temple’s monks may capture it.”
Huizhen’s expression too lightened somewhat.
An Earth-Rank Artifact that could give birth to an Artifact Spirit was as rare as one in tens of thousands of miles. Even with the heritage of White Horse Temple, they could not claim to have another Earth-Rank Artifact that had birthed a spirit.
If someday Qudeng could be brought back to White Horse Temple, then even if it had committed actions contrary to Buddhist rules in order to survive, such things could still be tolerated.
Yet the developments that followed unfolded too swiftly for the monks of White Horse Temple to react.
After obtaining the information, the anaconda demon pondered briefly, then once again attacked Qudeng. This time, ignoring all pleas for mercy, it crushed him outright before ceasing.
And the screen before them froze upon the final moment of Qudeng’s demise—
A pair of cold, merciless snake pupils filled the screen, as if piercing through the seams of time and space to gaze directly upon the monks of White Horse Temple, staring at them with chilling scrutiny.
“!”
Even though Huizhi, as a Lower Heaven-Rank, was countless times stronger than this anaconda demon Mo Lin—
For some reason, upon seeing those pupils, Huizhi still shivered instinctively.