Lian Sha Arhat regarded the Beautiful Corpse Bodhisattva as someone who would take on calamities, which was also considered a secret.
To everyone's surprise, Xie Lingzhu uncovered it straight away, and everyone was shocked, thinking that Lian Sha Arhat would fly into a rage, while the Beautiful Corpse Bodhisattva would cause a big ruckus.
But in the next moment, this odd master-disciple pair both burst out laughing.
It started with Lian Sha Arhat, who held the Blood Lotus and chanted a Buddha's name before candidly saying,
"The little girl pretends to be clever. When I first took Shan'er under my wing, I told her clearly: I once had a daughter who died tragically due to my Demon cultivation. That event gradually turned into my Heart Demon. Now I teach you all sorts of Magic Skills without reserve, treating you like an heir, as if you were my own flesh and blood. However, when disaster strikes, she might have to block it for me."
"Shan'er agreed verbally, and only then did I cast a spell to bring her back from the dead. Since then, Guanyin Temple lost a Female Bodhisattva, and Demon Buddha Temple gained a Beautiful Corpse."
Having said his piece, the Beautiful Corpse Bodhisattva, who resembled a young Guanyin, also spoke up.
"Xie Lingzhu, you are still so shameless and hypocritical. When I wanted to leave Guanyin Temple, I could've escaped smoothly if it wasn't for a bunch of shameless so-called sisters who disclosed my secret, bringing that old nun to my door."
"I paid the price of temporarily dying and turning into a corpse to leave the temple successfully. Telling me to go back? For what, to be stuffed into the Jade Purification Bottle by that old nun and refined into sweet rain relics?"
"You say I've misled myself? Although Master sees me as someone to block calamity, he also sees me as his true daughter, and if real disaster comes one day, he won't let anything happen to me."
"Isn't that so, Daddy?"
"Of course not, my dear daughter."
This final exchange was nothing short of paternal love and filial piety.
Yet for some reason, it made all the bystanders feel weird.
A nameless sense of distortion slowly took root.
Seeing that her "instigation" failed, Xie Lingzhu's expression remained unchanged, and she spoke again.
This time she recited Buddhist Scripture, and the Beautiful Corpse, looking both innocent and enchanting, boldly kept up.
The two of them, back and forth, actually began to engage in serious Debating Scripture.
However, it didn't last long before the scales of victory irresistibly tipped toward the Beautiful Corpse.
In terms of knowledge and understanding of Buddhist Scriptures and of spiritual wisdom,
Xie Lingzhu had not lied: the Beautiful Corpse Bodhisattva was almost completely overwhelming her.
In that voice, soft as silk, it was clear to anyone that Xie Lingzhu couldn't out-argue the Beautiful Corpse Bodhisattva.
Indeed, after just a few moments,
Xie Lingzhu's questioning of the Beautiful Corpse Bodhisattva's mixed cultivation methods and her destined failure to comprehend the Dao and achieve Mahayana... was silenced by the Bodhisattva's obscure Buddhist Scripture "Treatise on the Three Acts Introductory Discussion."
Just as everyone thought Xie Lingzhu was about to concede, the female cultivator suddenly smiled lightly and then with a decisive tone said,
"Sister Yang's wisdom remains as before, and your elder sister has learned a lesson."
"However, you're still studying too broadly, sister. That's why you cannot see the truth, and even less so your own initial and true heart. Now, your elder sister will prove it to you."
At the end of her speech,
Xie Lingzhu suddenly sat cross-legged in the Void and began to chant a Buddhist Scripture known as "All Living Beings Love and Desire Root Scripture."
While reciting, she did not employ any Divine Skills, and since the texts were mostly rhetorical questions, this naturally did not break any rules. The Three Arhats sensed something amiss but found no reason to intervene.
This hesitation spelled trouble.
At first, the Beautiful Corpse Bodhisattva heard a few sentences and showed a sneer, preparing to retort.
But Xie Lingzhu continued, unfazed.
The Beautiful Corpse Bodhisattva patiently listened on, realized she needed to ponder, and continued listening. Gradually, a hint of perplexity appeared on her face, falling into contemplation.
Towards the end, a look of bewilderment emerged, and a strange, devilish energy began to seep out of her body, showing signs of Falling Demon?
In contrast, everyone else present, including Tao Qian, did not find the content of the Buddhist Scriptures unusual.
Until the next moment, when Tao Qian's mind was struck by Yuan Gong's voice and various Records.
First was Yuan Gong, who exclaimed in astonishment,
"It's that Great Foolish Monk's doing, playing quite a game, tailoring a Buddhist Scripture on the spot for that girl called Beautiful Corpse."
"If the girl cannot respond, she may be forced to change her path and become a true Guanyin Practitioner... whether it's fortune or misfortune, that's hard to say."
As Yuan Gong's voice faded, a burst of Record surged in the mind:
[Currently listening to "All Living Beings Love and Desire Root Scripture"...]
[This Scripture was written on the spot by Great Abyss Zen Master, specifically targeting cultivators who possess an Innate Lustful Soul and are entangled by sinful emotions. Once heard, they are trapped within it, as if fallen into a fantasy of love and lust, revealing many secret desires and yearnings from within the Heart Soul, questioning the cultivator's true nature while also guiding them from evil to righteousness, freeing them from the entanglement of lustful souls and achieving deeper Buddhist principles...]
"Such a clever tactic!"
Upon discovering this secret, Tao Qian couldn't help but be startled.
The Great Abyss Zen Master, it seemed, possessed no Cultivation or Divine Skills.
Yet, with one move, he was about to forcibly change the Beautiful Corpse Bodhisattva's path?
It was known that Bai Qin could only attack while the Beautiful Corpse Bodhisattva was closed in meditation to refine the Buddha Bird Relics, using a [Bu Jue Guanyin Root Seal] to forcibly induce the Bodhisattva's sudden insight.
This Zen Master needed no covert assault, simply writing a new Buddhist Scripture to accomplish such an inconceivable deed.
As Tao Qian contemplated, moments later, the scene corroborating Yuan Gong's voice transmission and the Records appeared.
Cries of agitation could be heard simultaneously from Little Leiyin Temple and the entire Qiantang Province City.
The source was the Beautiful Corpse Bodhisattva.
As she listened, she suddenly lost composure, a look of utmost agony on her face, collapsing in midair.
Buddha Light burst forth from within her, wave after wave, erupting out.