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墨書 Inktalez
The old monk wore a compassionate expression, resembling the Buddha himself, with his brows lowered and hands clasped together.
"Benefactor, we meet again," the old monk said, his voice gentle yet powerful enough to pin the Turtle Spirit to the ground, rendering it immobile.
Every word he spoke was like a lion's roar from the Buddhist realm, imbued with boundless dharma!
The Old Tortoise Spirit lay on the ground, angrily shouting, "Hui Tong Monk! You have suppressed me for five hundred years! Why won't you let me go? Why?"
"Benefactor, after five hundred years, you still have not shed your inherent flaws. It seems that in this life, you are fated to be disconnected from cultivation. It would be better for you to follow me into reincarnation and comprehend the Six Realms," the old monk replied, his ethereal figure seated in the air, exuding an aura of solemnity.
"No! Old Monk! You can't do this! You can't!" The Old Tortoise Spirit was furious and suddenly leaped up, lunging toward the monk in the air.
The old monk's presence was majestic as he clasped his hands together. Suddenly, he began to chant a series of Sanskrit phonemes. At that moment, the Azure Thunderwood Staff floating above him began to glow. Strange Buddhist runes illuminated on the staff.
I couldn't understand what the old monk was chanting; I could only tilt my head back and watch as he uttered each syllable of sacred sound.
"You will die!" The Old Tortoise Spirit roared in anger, desperately trying to leap toward the old monk. However, a layer of hazy golden light stood before the monk, preventing the Turtle Spirit from breaking through.
The runes on the Azure Thunderwood Staff glowed brighter and brighter, enveloping the Old Tortoise Spirit. It shrank down to the ground, its form slowly transforming into that of a giant tortoise.
At that moment, a wave of golden light surged forth, forming a luminous screen like a movie. An extremely aged monk appeared on the screen.
The old monk wore tattered robes and straw sandals, with his pant legs rolled up. He had a very friendly smile. Every day he would go to the Golden River to preach to the impoverished masses. His teachings were simple enough for everyone to understand; when he spoke, colorful flowers would even fall from above.
By the Golden River lay a tortoise that had lived for over a hundred years. It listened attentively to the old monk's sermons every day and gradually developed its own consciousness, even beginning to understand cultivation.
Every day at the riverbank, hundreds of people gathered to listen to the old monk's teachings. Some would leave after just one day, others after a month; some would come and go repeatedly. No one could maintain consistency in their attendance.
Only one person remained—a girl with her hair tied up in a bun. She came every day and sat in front of the old monk, resting her round, chubby face on her hands as she listened earnestly.
The girl carried a bag filled with glutinous rice dumplings and rice cakes. After each sermon, she would offer one of her dumplings to the old monk; she was a kind-hearted and adorable girl.
One day, she noticed the Turtle Spirit listening by the riverbank. Excitedly, she began bringing extra glutinous rice dumplings to share with it during their meals together.
Year after year, the old monk had grown even older. He was perhaps one hundred and fifty years old now, while the girl, who had once been an eight-year-old child with her hair in a bun, had blossomed into a young woman in her twenties.
The Young Woman was kind-hearted and beautiful. She often helped those around her, spending each day by the side of the Old Turtle, chatting about various things.
Finally, one day, while the old monk was preaching by the Golden River, he saw the Young Woman sitting with the Old Turtle. He calculated something with his fingers and sighed, saying, "So it is, so it is!" With that, the old monk passed away peacefully.
By the Golden River, as the old monk departed this world, countless people came to kneel in reverence, including the Young Woman and the Old Turtle.
However, the old monk's body was truly a golden Buddha in meditation; it was certain that relics would appear. This body caught the attention of a wealthy family named Ma. They gathered over a hundred servants and rushed to the riverbank to seize the old monk's remains.
The surrounding crowd rose up in resistance, unwilling to let the Horse Clan succeed. The servants then drew their knives.
A massacre ensued by the riverside; the Young Woman died on the spot, her body floating in the river as blood stained its waters red.
The Old Turtle let out a mournful cry. For the first time, it felt human emotions; it understood what heartache meant, what despair was, and what love truly entailed.
From that day on, the Old Turtle no longer basked in the sun by the riverbank. It pulled the girl's body to the riverbed and built a grave for her. Every day thereafter, it devoted itself to cultivation before her grave.
Three hundred years passed in a flash.
By the Golden River, everything had changed; dynasties had risen and fallen. Yet the hatred and heartache within the Old Turtle remained unchanged. Finally achieving spiritual transformation, its first act was not to do good deeds or seek immortality but to hunt down the descendants of that Ma family and exact revenge!
The Ma family had become prosperous and had many descendants.
The Old Tortoise Spirit was filled with rage and killed countless people!
At this moment, from Jinshan Temple emerged Hui Tong Monk. Holding his Azure Thunderwood Staff, he battled fiercely with the Old Tortoise Spirit for three nights before finally subduing it by the riverbank.
Hui Tong Monk ordered the construction of a Demon Suppression Tower. He personally sealed it and entered the tower, reciting scriptures daily for the Old Tortoise Spirit in hopes that it would awaken and return to its path of cultivation.
Hui Tong Monk believed that deep down, the Old Tortoise Spirit was not inherently evil. Therefore, he hoped to spend his life redeeming it. After all, demon cultivation was no easy feat; Hui Tong Monk did not wish to let go of this significant opportunity.
Thus inside the Demon Suppression Tower, every day Hui Tong Monk recited scriptures, hoping to help the Old Tortoise Spirit forget its hatred.
But in the end, it was all in vain.
Time passed, and the years flowed by.
The Hui Tong Monk had become nothing but a skeleton, while the Old Tortoise Spirit was left with only a wisp of its soul.
Five hundred years later, the Old Tortoise Spirit escaped once more. Despite the passage of time, it could never forget the feeling of that woman dying before it. The despair and pain lingered, leaving it unable to let go.
...
With a sudden flash, a golden light curtain appeared!
These events felt like they lasted only an instant, yet seemed to stretch over five hundred years.
I stared blankly at the scenes displayed on the light curtain, my heart finally understanding the past between the Old Tortoise Spirit and the Hui Tong Monk. I also realized why the Hui Tong Monk insisted on suppressing the Old Tortoise Spirit but chose not to kill it.
At that moment, the Old Tortoise Spirit curled up on the ground in agony. Its body had transformed into that of a soft-shelled turtle. It raised its head and roared at the Hui Tong Monk, letting out one final cry: "Hui Tong Monk! You have never experienced the world; how can you understand the pain of love? Even if you suppress me for another five hundred years, I will never forget!"
Hui Tong suddenly opened his eyes wide and sighed. He spoke softly, "Amitabha, benefactor, may you find peace in your next life. Six Paths of Reincarnation, forget your suffering, Reincarnation Spell... Namo... Amitabha!"
As he uttered the last word, the Azure Thunderwood Staff in midair suddenly glowed with all its Sanskrit inscriptions. A beam of light flashed, and a black hole appeared out of nowhere in the air. In an instant, it sucked the Old Tortoise Spirit inside, leaving no trace behind.
The ethereal Buddha image of Hui Tong Monk gradually faded. He turned to look at me and said, "Since we are fated to meet, from this day forth, this Zen Staff shall belong to you. May you use your heart to guide all beings!" With that, Hui Tong Monk slowly vanished.
I sat there dazed on the ground, unsure of what Hui Tong Monk meant.
At that moment, the Azure Thunderwood Staff fell into my hands. As I grasped this Zen Staff, I suddenly felt a connection as if it would obey my commands without question.
I glanced at where the Old Tortoise Spirit had lain on the ground and sighed. The Old Tortoise Spirit was indeed a being of emotion; one thought could lead to enlightenment or to darkness.
The Zen Staff felt warm in my hands. All its inscriptions had vanished; it was just a simple wooden stick now.
Suddenly, I understood Hui Tong Monk's meaning. At last, this Zen Staff could truly recognize its master; it could genuinely belong to me.
I felt the faint electric energy from the Azure Thunder Staff and finally broke into a smile. The only regret was that the Old Tortoise Spirit was gone, which meant I could no longer absorb its energy.
However, one must not be too greedy. With this staff in hand, I believed that with a little practice, it would become an invaluable ally.
The tortoise had vanished, and the old monk had disappeared; everything had returned to normal.
After a moment's thought, I held the staff and respectfully bowed three times in the direction where the old monk had been.
Once I finished my bows, I approached Yang Gou Dan and gave him a kick.
Yang Gou Dan wiped his mouth and suddenly came to his senses. He stomped his foot and exclaimed, "What the hell! Buddha, I can't believe I was just tricked!"
I patted Yang Gou Dan on the head and smiled, "Alright, it's all over now. Let's head back to the dormitory."
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