I Don't Want to Get Hurt, So I'll Max Out My Defense-Chapter 921 - 922: The Young Monk’s Secular Name is Liu Jinshui

Chapter 921: Chapter 922: The Young Monk’s Secular Name is Liu Jinshui

Li Xiaobai watched, dumbstruck, as the cultivators around him shouted loudly as if possessed by demons, feeling like they had joined some heretical cult.

On the stage, Ergouzi sat down with great self-satisfaction, imitating the posture of human cultivators with his short legs crossed. The wide kasaya covered most of his body securely, making him look quite comical.

“Senior, they have not yet fully adapted to the power of faith, so they are so excited. Give them a few more days and they will return to normal,”

whispered Hu Meizi, “Senior, have you ever met Master Wuhu before? A dog with five hundred thousand units of karmic merit, I feel like I’ve lived my life in vain.”

“No matter how high one’s merit is, it’s useless if one’s weak. Being able to cut it down effortlessly, a strong cultivation level is the real deal,”

Li Xiaobai said indifferently, calming his mind and observing Ergouzi’s performance on the stage.

Ergouzi’s inventory of Huazi seemed plentiful, maintaining a constant state of puffing clouds of smoke; it appeared he hadn’t been converted by the power of faith. Viewing his vast amount of karmic merit, it seemed that recently he hadn’t skimped on plundering high-level scriptures to chant, with the Buddhist Sect seemingly cooperating, they must have reached some consensus.

“Amitabha, thank you, benefactors, for gracing Thunder Peak with your presence today. After today, you will benefit immensely!”

“Today, this humble Buddhist disciple will not speak of complex formalities; let us talk about the knowledge not found in books!”

Ergouzi declared from the high platform, mouth wide open in a grin.

“Please enlighten us, Master!”

The cultivators said respectfully.

“A clever disciple who receives a salary of three thousand top-grade Immortal Stones only does work worth that much and not a bit more, because doing otherwise would be at one’s own expense, causing oneself hardship. Ten years later, he is still receiving a measly salary of three thousand top-grade Immortal Stones per month, forever at a loss.”

“Whereas a wise disciple does work worth nine thousand for a salary of three thousand, not minding hardship or fatigue. Ten years later, the wise disciple already earns twenty thousand top-grade Immortal Stones a month. In life, many times one needs to let go and not be calculative. Sometimes, by dreaming a little more and caring a little less about gains and losses, good luck will come.”

Ergouzi spoke leisurely with another Huazi in his mouth.

“But the path of cultivation is inherently against the natural order, filled with these kinds of risks and traps. If one doesn’t guard against them carefully and instead opens one’s heart, one might end up devoured to the point where not even bones remain!”

a cultivator asked.

The surrounding believers also listened quietly to Ergouzi’s reply. Although they were converted, it was only that their hearts had embraced a greater devotion to the Buddhist Sect. Their thoughts were not shackled, and they had doubts in their minds that needed to be resolved.

“Have you ever seen Heaven?”

Ergouzi glanced at him sideways, appearing somewhat displeased.

“I have not; the Heavenly Dao is unfathomable,” the cultivator replied truthfully.

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“That’s correct. Going against Heaven is just something cultivators say. The path of cultivation has never been the concern of the Heavenly Dao. On this path, it’s almost entirely people who walk it. Compared to the Heavenly Dao, one should pay more attention to the human heart. What you describe as going against Heaven is really just a contest of wits and courage amongst cultivators. If it were as this Buddhist disciple says, with the world united in harmony, the journey of cultivation would naturally become much easier,”

Ergouzi exhaled a ring of smoke and spoke slowly.

“Everyone here, ask yourselves, having fought through the Cultivation World for years, have you become suspicious of everything? Have your actions become rife with deception, and have you even come to scheme against those close to you, living in constant anxiety?”

“Do you still possess the youthful spirit and the overwhelming ambition that you had when you first embarked on the path of cultivation?”

“Or have you, present here today, become so preoccupied with livelihood that your hair has turned white over it, and for just a bit of resources, you quibble over every single detail?”

“Ah, this…”

“The master’s teachings are just, I have been living in constant fear for thirty years since, always worried that one day I would be killed by my enemies. Unable to carry even a moment’s leisure, although I have survived all these years, I also missed many beautiful sceneries.”

“Yes, when I first entered the sect, I swore in front of the ancestral master’s statue that I would definitely reach the Semi-Saint level, but now I’m not even at the Heavenly Immortal Realm!”

“Master, under such pressing circumstances, what should we do?”

The believers became restless; under the influence of the Power of Faith, they reacted to Ergouzi’s words, beginning to question the purpose of their own cultivation, filling their hearts with guilt and remorse.

“Amitabha, the opportunity has now arrived. Recently, the great tomb has been opened, and it is feared that there might be malevolent beings causing havoc within. Therefore, this Buddhist disciple is forming a team to enter and eliminate the demons and monsters. Anyone willing to follow this Buddhist disciple may register with Master Juejuezi, and by paying a fee of ten thousand top-grade Immortal Stones, you can join this disciple in this venture!”

“Opportunities once lost cannot be regained. Whether you want to be a clever disciple or a wise one depends solely on a single thought from you all. On the path of cultivation, think more about what you have given rather than what you have received, as the saying goes, without intention, the willow grows into shade. Once you have this enlightenment, your fortunes will surely climb steadily.”

Ergouzi maintained a proper and serious posture with a face full of compassion, eyes on nose, nose on mouth, mouth on heart.

“Thank you, master, for resolving my doubts! I suddenly feel much more open-minded, free and easy, with a sensation of flying!”

“A mere ten thousand top-grade Immortal Stones are but trivial external possessions after all!”

The cultivators became agitated, one after another rising to their feet and rushing toward the mountain top, fearing that lagging behind others would mean losing the opportunity. Even those cultivators who had not been converted were now surging with the crowds, initially intending to investigate the great tomb themselves, but now, with Buddhist cultivators leading the way, it would undoubtedly be much safer, and at the very least, it provided a legitimate reason to enter. As for the fortunes and treasures inside, naturally, the capable would obtain them, and they had no intention of simply handing them over to others.

Hu Meizi also joined in to watch the excitement, mainly to get a close look at the dog that supposedly had half a million merits attached to it and see what was so special about it.

Li Xiaobai, looking at the believers who had formed a human wall around him, changed into a set of clean and tidy grey monk’s robes, looking like a novice monk who had just entered the sect and not yet been tonsured. Addressing the crowd congesting the path, he said:

“Everyone, there’s only Master Juejuezi up at the mountain peak registering people, which is rather inefficient. As a monk from the Great Thunderclap Temple who followed Master Wuhu, the benefactors can come to me to pay the fee, and I will later tally the list and the Immortal Stones to Master Juejuezi.”

What an opportunity to make a fortune! There are at least tens of thousands of cultivators on the mountain, and the peak could accommodate at most two or three thousand people. The rest of the cultivators were all stuck halfway up the mountain. Natural gold lying before one’s eyes was surely to be taken.

“Thank you, little master!”

“Little master is kind-hearted, here is my Immortal Stone!”

Indeed, after hearing Li Xiaobai’s speech, the surrounding cultivators voluntarily crowded over, each paying their Immortal Stones. Li Xiaobai took out a ledger and pretended to register everyone’s names, inwardly lamenting that Ergouzi’s vision was too small, charging only ten thousand top-grade Immortal Stones per person – wasn’t this akin to begging?

Wouldn’t it be better to charge a hundred thousand each? With thousands of people stuck on the mid-mountain, unable to register in time and waiting anxiously in line, if he collected all of their Immortal Stones, his assets would exceed a billion.

“I have yet to ask for the little master’s name. Being able to cultivate at the Great Thunderclap Temple is indeed a tremendous blessing!”

There were still some cautious believers in the crowd who wanted to find out more about Li Xiaobai’s background.

Li Xiaobai said cheerfully, “Amitabha, you flatter me, benefactors. I’m just a novice who has recently entered the Buddhist sect and have not yet been tonsured, so I do not have a Buddhist name.”

“Then how should we address the little master?”

“Amitabha, in secular life, I am known as Liu Jinshui. A pleasure to meet you all!”