A Top Scholar in Everything-Chapter 892 - 878: Demon Monk

Baiyu was sitting in the side room cultivating when, in the originally pitch-black and silent night, he was suddenly interrupted by strange noises. It was a low, faint tearing sound, as if someone were incessantly ripping something apart.

Baiyu furrowed his brow.

This place was exceedingly strange, and even the slightest unusual sound warranted vigilance, never allowing for carelessness.

He opened the door and followed the direction of the sound, unexpectedly arriving at the main hall of the Temple.

Yet the entire main hall was plunged into darkness, not even a single candle lit. Clearly, earlier the monk said he would be here transcribing scriptures. But in such a dark environment, it hardly seemed like he was doing that.

Baiyu cautiously raised his alertness, quietly feeling for his large sword.

He explored around the main hall, finding nothing in the end—empty and deserted, devoid of any human presence. During this process, he also managed to find a candlestick, lighting a candle, and the bright yellow light danced within the room.

No one...

The monk said he was transcribing scriptures, yet not a single person was here—this naturally aroused Baiyu's suspicion. He quietly calmed himself, and the faint sound reappeared—so subtle that without careful listening, it couldn't be discerned.

Guided by the sound, Baiyu quickly arrived behind a statue.

This was a reclining Buddha.

With a broad smile, kind eyebrows, and gentle eyes, one couldn't help but feel goodwill upon seeing it. But in this environment, the smiling reclining Buddha seemed incredibly eerie.

"Apologies."

Baiyu's eyes remained fixed on the reclining Buddha statue. In this main hall, there were several Buddhist images; this one was unassuming, but Baiyu was certain that the sound originated from beneath the reclining Buddha.

He took a deep breath and, with one punch, instantly smashed the head of the reclining Buddha.

Immediately after.

A deep, dark passage revealed itself inside the reclining Buddha's belly. It was a secret passage. Baiyu observed a small mechanism notch beside the passage—the Buddha's head could be opened, but since Baiyu couldn't find the mechanism, he chose the simplest method.

"I must see what kind of tricks you're up to down there."

Without hesitation, Baiyu jumped down. Inside the pitch-black passage, only the candlelight flickered unsteadily. The monk must have come down here; the candles on the walls were likely lit by him.

Creaaak, creaaak...

The tearing sound grew louder. After turning a corner, Baiyu kicked open a stone door, witnessing a shocking scene.

The monk was indeed transcribing scriptures.

But he was using human skin! Dipping a brush in human blood, transcribing scriptures on it—an utterly eerie sight. Behind him was a skinned person, dripping with blood; the tearing sound had presumably emanated from him while he flayed the skin.

"Master? Master?"

Baiyu attempted to call out twice, his hand already gripping the sword's hilt. At the slightest sign of trouble, he would immediately react.

However, the monk ignored him.

He remained focused on writing his scriptures, a hint of obsession on his face, constantly chanting the scriptures aloud.

Seeing this, Baiyu furrowed his brow.

This monk was evidently not a normal person, likely driven insane over the countless years.

The skinned victim was clearly a Cultivator who had only entered the city today.

"Alas, I didn't expect you, master, to have long succumbed to depravity. It seems I must send you on your way, freeing you."

Baiyu internally lamented. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

This monk, when conversing with him during the day, appeared lucid, with no visible flaws in his speech and plenty of goodwill in his words. Who would have thought even a master of deep Buddhist Dharma couldn't withstand the ravages of time? Baiyu contemplated that if even this master fell to such a state, what more of others?

Realizing this.

He hesitated no longer, his long sword vibrating in his hand, and he swept forward like a whirlwind—fierce Blood Qi surging from his body, slashing towards the monk's crown.

Unexpectedly.

This strike didn't kill the monk; instead, it sent him flying, crashing violently against the wall, creating a crack upon impact.

"Benevolent one, I treated you sincerely; why do you strike me by surprise?"

The monk's eyes glowed crimson, full of malice, wholly lacking the composure from the daytime, and he rushed at Baiyu in an attempt to counterattack.

But the monk's strength was evidently lacking.

Within moments, Baiyu subdued the master, immediately sending him on his way to the Western Heaven's Pure Land to meet the Venerable Buddha.

After dealing with the monk, Baiyu observed a moment of silence, then turned his attention to the skinned individual.

It was impossible to recognize his true face.

Yet, as Baiyu was about to leave, a formless pale soul suddenly emerged from the corpse.

It was evidently the spirit of this body.

Seemingly unaware of his own demise, he looked around in confusion, cautiously eyeing Baiyu: "What are you trying to do, brother? I discovered this place first. You're not thinking of killing for treasure, are you?"

Seeing such a realistic soul, Baiyu paused, uncertain how to break the truth. But upon noticing the skin filled with scriptures on the table, he couldn't help but pick it up and shake it before the young man: "Brother, this is your skin."

The atmosphere instantly froze.

The big brother stayed dumbfounded for a long while, seemingly failing to comprehend the situation until Baiyu shook the skin. Finally, he realized.

This was his own skin...

The man remained silent for a moment; years of cultivation had trained him with a good mindset, and he quickly accepted his current state.

"In this city, when a person dies, their soul is trapped and doesn't disappear. You're currently in this state. Although you can't leave here, it's a different kind of immortality," Baiyu consoled.

"I'm a Level Three student from the holy Purple Crystal School, Long Potian."

The man soon accepted the fact of his death, smiling at Baiyu, "I didn't expect to die in such a way."

Baiyu replied: "If I hadn't noticed something amiss while sleeping at night, I would likely be following in your footsteps, senior. This city is awfully eerie, more dangerous at night than during the day."

Long Potian nodded.

Afterward, the two engaged in a conversation. Evidently, even in death, Long Potian wished to leave. Having witnessed the plight of ghosts within the city, he saw an example right before him.

Tormented over the endless years, driven mad and reduced to a wild beast.

After chatting for a while.

Baiyu didn't linger in the passage and returned to the main hall, continuing to search the Temple. With the monk residing here for so many years, surely he had numerous treasures hidden within. Driven by the idea to take advantage of every opportunity, Baiyu commenced a thorough search of the entire Temple.