Chapter 169 - 99 Red Moon Memories

Chapter 169: Chapter 99 Red Moon Memories"This is the grand summary of the supreme Absolute Skill, the Golden Light Spell, belonging to our temple," Yan Kong said gently as he began. Fayue felt as if struck by lightning and asked with difficulty, "These eight-word true sayings, are clearly Daoist mysteries." Yan Kong smiled faintly, "Foolish child, the righteous mystical truths of the world—where do Buddhism and Daoism come from? Tathagata said there is no self, no person, no sentient beings. Your attachment to Buddhism and Daoism is due to appearances." Fayue hurriedly clasped his hands together, "This disciple has been foolish." Yan Kong then laughed heartily, his voice resonant like the morning bell and evening drum. Upon hearing this, Fayue felt a tingling sensation throughout his bones, akin to cultivating the Tiger Demon Bone Refining Fist, giving him a faint feeling of rebirth. He then heard the old monk say again, "However, these eight words indeed belong to the Daoist mysteries." Fayue almost couldn’t help rolling his eyes, but remembering the old monk’s vengeful nature, he held back. In these past few months, the old monk seemed increasingly unfathomable, having even taken away the spiritual fox flesh brought back. Could it be that the old monk, at his age, was still making significant breakthroughs in Martial Arts? Before the old monk could continue, a monk who greeted visitors came from outside the cave, saying that Xu Qing was visiting. Yan Kong immediately went with Fayue to entertain the "sponsor." Upon meeting Xu Sanyuan, the old monk’s face bloomed with a smile, warmly instructing the monk to serve the best tea. After the host and guest were seated, Xu Qing stated his purpose. Yan Kong looked at Xu Qing and slowly said, "Has Xu Sanyuan already mastered our temple’s Tiger Demon Bone Refining Fist?" Knowing he couldn’t deceive Yan Kong, Xu Qing admitted frankly. Moreover, meeting Yan Kong again, Xu Qing noticed the old monk lacked any martial artist’s vigorous aura, seeming like an ordinary old monk without the taste of "an old man’s twilight years." The last martial artist Xu Qing met who didn’t exhibit such aura was "King Lin." Xu Qing was startled. It was no surprise that King Lin used the spiritual fox flesh to Refine Internal, but what accounted for the old monk’s significant breakthrough at his age? Or had the old monk always been a Refining Internal Master, but had always concealed it deeply? With such abilities, how could the Golden Ray Monastery still be short of money? In Xu Qing’s eyes, the old monk grew increasingly profound and enigmatic. He couldn’t help reflecting internally—was it the pressure from Duke Wei Mansion that made him so impatient that he came to ask for the Golden Light Spell? With the old monk’s strength, even if he waited a few more months to come, it wouldn’t make much difference. What about waiting a few more years? Setting aside the pressure from Duke Wei Mansion, whether he could still be alive in a few years was unknown. He now understood the ancient saying, "When dusk falls along the path, one might act against the tide in desperation." Under the threat of death, it’s quite natural for people to act regardless of the consequences. In the face of death, what isn’t worth daring to contend for? The Golden Light Spell was crucial for Xu Qing’s fundamental interests; he had to come and had to scheme. In this world, how many big matters are there where one can prepare beforehand? Many are cases where one must act because the situation demands it. It’s merely a matter of doing one’s utmost and leaving the rest to fate. Moreover, if Golden Ray Monastery needed money, they could not sever ties with Xu Qing. There was Magistrate He standing behind Xu Qing after all. The County Magistrate ranked as a hundred-mile governor, and the Magistrate ranked higher; as long as Golden Ray Monastery remained on the White Path, it couldn’t avoid involvement with the Officials. In a flash, Xu Qing thought through many things, yet his face remained expressionless. Yan Kong clasped his hands together and said, "Since the Ancestor Red Moon passed into tranquility, aside from this old monk, no one else has fully mastered the two hundred and six strikes of the Tiger Demon Bone Refining Fist. Xu Sanyuan is truly a rare Martial Arts genius of this generation." Xu Qing: "Did the master also complete the Tiger Demon Bone Refining Fist?" Yan Kong: "Indeed, it was thanks to Xu Sanyuan’s fortune, without that spiritual fox flesh, this old monk could not have completed the Tiger Demon Bone Refining Fist." "How is that possible?" Xu Qing and Fayue almost spoke at the same time. Yan Kong: "This matter has a separate opportunity, and moreover, the old monk’s practice of Tiger Demon Bone Refining Fist compared to Xu Sanyuan is vastly different. It is not even worth mentioning." Xu Qing is skeptical and even suspects that the old monk may have also comprehended the Thunder Sound of Tiger and Leopard. He vaguely felt that something was off about Yan Kong but couldn’t put his finger on it. S~eaʀᴄh the Nôvel(F)ire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Xu Qing directly returned to the main topic, saying: "I don’t know what the master thinks about the Golden Light Spell. I am willing to exchange the secret cultivation techniques of the Lotus Sect and also add a large amount of incense money." Yan Kong sighed lightly and said, "Does Xu Sanyuan know how the Golden Light Spell came into the hands of Ancestor Red Moon?" Xu Qing shook his head: "These old matters are indeed beyond my knowledge." Yan Kong: "Everyone knows that Ancestor Red Moon came from the Great Zen Temple, but they do not know why Ancestor Red Moon left the Great Zen Temple. Would Xu Sanyuan like to listen to an old man’s ramblings?" Xu Qing: "I wish to hear more." Fayue, hearing this conversation, could not help but listen intently as well. There is no record in the temple regarding the reasons why Ancestor Red Moon left the Great Zen Temple. Yan Kong: "Ancestor Red Moon did not become a monk at the Great Zen Temple from a young age, but rather joined the temple with skills already acquired. Before becoming a disciple, he was already a well-known figure in the worldly society, known as the Iron Foot Immortal." Xu Qing exclaimed: "Iron Foot Immortal? Isn’t that the long-lost real person Yu Yangzi from the Seven Sons of the olden Quanzhen Dao?" Yan Kong: "Xu Sanyuan truly has an impressive memory." Xu Qing frowned again: "That’s not right, real person Yu Yangzi lived three hundred years ago, but your temple’s Ancestor Red Moon passed away only a hundred years ago." Yan Kong: "So does Mr. Xu believe in the theory of reincarnation?" Xu Qing: "Such matters are mostly considered unfounded stories, but they can’t be proven false either." Of course, he wouldn’t admit that it does exist, such as himself. Yan Kong: "Though the bodies differ, the essence persists. After Ancestor Red Moon awakened the innate wisdom of being the Iron Foot Immortal, he was indeed the reincarnation of real person Yu Yangzi. Before he joined the Great Zen Temple, he deliberately concealed his past and only mentioned that he had inherited the legacy from a predecessor. During a heavy snow, he knelt for seven days and seven nights, and finally moved Hui Ming, the Divine Monk of the Great Zen Temple at that time. Later, Ancestor Red Moon cultivated the Buddhist Law within the Great Zen Temple and within a few years, aside from the four Divine Monks in the temple at that time, no one else could match Ancestor Red Moon in Buddhist Law. Normally, he was expected to become the Abbot of the Great Zen Temple." "Why did Ancestor Red Moon then decide to leave the temple?" Yan Kong sighed softly, "In pursuit of the Dao, Red Moon Ancestor even dared to test the laws with his own body, debating the Dao with the divine soul of the Black Fox King suppressed by the Great Zen Temple. That debate led to a major incident." "What major incident?" "Red Moon Ancestor, enraptured in the debate, actually planned to release the seal on the Black Fox King. At that time, the whole Great Zen Temple tried to dissuade him, but he wouldn’t listen. Later, Hui Ming, in order to make Red Moon Ancestor give up this idea, used the One Hundred and Eight Arhats Demon Suppression Formation of the Great Zen Temple to stop him." "Who would have thought..." Yan Kong said here, his expression extremely complex. "I suppose Red Moon Ancestor broke the Arhats Demon Suppression Formation," Xu Qing said. Yan Kong nodded, "If it were just that, it would be fine. The means used by Red Moon Ancestor to break the Arhats Demon Suppression Formation was the Heavenly Gang Beidou Formation of Quanzhen Dao. At that time, he underwent the Seven Transformations, forming the array himself. Only then did everyone in the temple realize that not only had Red Moon Ancestor’s martial arts reached a level close to that of a Martial Saint, but his divine soul had also achieved Great Success through ’possession.’ Both the Arhats Demon Suppression Formation of the Great Zen Temple and the Heavenly Gang Beidou Formation of Quanzhen Dao are extremely high realms in formation arrays, difficult to distinguish in superiority. However, with Red Moon Ancestor’s Seven Transformations, his mind as one, he was far beyond the martial monks who set up the formations, thus he broke the formation." He paused here, then continued, "Seeing Red Moon Ancestor break the formation, Hui Ming, according to the rules set previously, should have agreed to release the seal on the Black Fox King. However, Hui Ming knew that once the divine soul of the Black Fox King was released, it would cause a tremendous disaster, and he actually reneged on the spot. He personally stopped his proud disciple. In the end, Hui Ming, having taken a palm strike from Red Moon Ancestor, mobilized the innate Gang Jin cultivated from the Great Zen Temple’s One Finger Zen, pointed through the air, and broke Red Moon Ancestor’s Vajra Body Protection Divine Skill. Defeated by Hui Ming, Red Moon Ancestor then left the mountain, declaring that he would find a skill greater than the Vajra Body Protection Divine Skill, one of the Supreme Yang Skill, to counter Hui Ming’s innate Gang Jin." "Is that skill the Golden Light Spell?" Xu Qing couldn’t help but ask. Yan Kong replied, "Exactly. The Golden Light Spell originates from the Taoist Thunder Skill, the top tier of martial arts Foundation Building Skills in the world. Once its cultivation reaches Great Success, it guards the body with golden light, even superior to the Vajra Body Protection Divine Skill. This skill was originally a profound secret of the Heavenly Master’s Dao, and Red Moon Ancestor, once a senior of the Taoist, was deeply familiar with the Heavenly Master’s Dao, astonishingly, he sneaked into the Heavenly Master’s Dao alone and acquired the secret technique of the Golden Light Spell. At that time, there happened to be no Heavenly Master alive in the Heavenly Master’s Dao, and no one could cultivate the Golden Light Spell. For some reason, after the Golden Light Spell was taken by Red Moon Ancestor, rather than making things difficult for him, they sent a Taoist child to inform Red Moon Ancestor that without the assistance of the Heavenly Master’s Degree, the practice of the Golden Light Spell would be ominous." He paused here and continued, "At that time, Red Moon Ancestor was contemplating the Golden Light Spell and indeed encountered difficulties, so he tested the Taoist child with the content of the Golden Light Spell. Unexpectedly, the Taoist child responded fluently, saying that if Red Moon Ancestor converted to Buddhism and joined the Heavenly Master’s Dao, he would naturally lend the Heavenly Master’s Degree to help Red Moon Ancestor comprehend the Golden Light Spell. Red Moon Ancestor did not agree, but he returned the Golden Light Spell, keeping only a copy he transcribed himself. Not only that, but he also handed over his various insights on the Golden Light Spell to the Heavenly Master’s Dao. Ten years later, that Taoist child became the previous Heavenly Master." "What happened to Red Moon Ancestor later?" Xu Qing asked again. Yan Kong responded, "Red Moon Ancestor had innate wisdom and was an extraordinary talent of his era. Even though the Taoist child warned him that the Golden Light Spell was ominous without the Heavenly Master’s Degree, Red Moon Ancestor still stubbornly continued his cultivation and became the only person outside the Heavenly Master’s Dao to master the Golden Light Spell." "And then?" Yan Kong slowly said, "Everyone knows that Red Moon Ancestor passed away at the age of fifty, but what they do not know is that in his later years, he often lost his sanity, went down the mountain to slaughter bullies and tyrants, committing many murders. Later, the Ancestor realized that these were all disasters brought about by his forced cultivation of the Golden Light Spell. Deeply feeling the heaviness of his sins, he ended his own life in a Black Coffin, instructing that it not be opened until three years later, and that his body be burned into relics to suppress the demon of the temple." "Three years later, according to the instructions of Red Moon Ancestor, the monks of the temple excavated and opened the Black Coffin. But they found that the body of Red Moon Ancestor inside the coffin had unexpectedly grown..." He said this, unable to suppress a look of fear. "Grown what?" "When they opened the coffin, they found that Red Moon Ancestor’s body had grown red fur, filled with ominous implications," Yan Kong said somberly, continuing, "Moreover, they discovered that there were words on the inside cover of the coffin..."