Chapter 104: Until We Meet Again

In the end, the great black monkey transformed within the dark radiance into a young man with a sharp, simian face, dressed in a black suit. At that moment, red blotches marred his face, neck, and skin—coin-sized marks, as if scorched by rusty iron.

“Amitabha!” A resonant Buddhist chant thundered through the void. Cloaked in golden light, a monk appeared, draped in kasaya robes and wielding a demon-subduing staff, one hand pressed together in a solemn gesture.

The monk was refined in appearance, but his brows were sharp as blades, radiating a steely edge—clearly not someone easy to deal with. After reciting the sacred name, his gaze fell coldly upon the young man in black. His voice was icy and unyielding: “Wretched fiend, submit to the law!”

There was no hint of Buddhist compassion in the monk’s blade-like brows, only the aura of a predator.

“Monk, who are you?” The sharp-faced youth stared at him, fear flickering in his eyes.

“Flowerless, of the Grand Buddha Sect!” Flowerless, gripping the demon-subduing staff, grew even more severe. “Demon and heretic, spreading chaos through the city—I shall consign you to the Eighteen Hells.”

Golden light erupted from Flowerless, enveloping the youth, while his gaze swept over Lin Qiu, Lei Long, and Heize. That look was as frigid as the arctic, utterly devoid of warmth.

A chill ran through all their hearts—for this monk, too, bore murderous intent toward them.

Lin Qiu stepped forward, taking out his credentials. “We are official agents of the Urban Exotic Beast Management Bureau, appointed by higher authorities. Our presence here is lawful.”

“Hmph!” Flowerless gave a dismissive snort. “To me, a demon is a demon—there is only right and wrong, good and evil.”

“I am an exorcist of the Grand Buddha Sect. My purpose is to purge evil and uphold the way of heaven.”

“Once I deal with this creature, I’ll send you all along the same path.”

His voice was cold as iron, paying no heed to Lin Qiu’s words. In his right hand he tightened his grip on the staff, while his left hand flashed through ritual gestures.

“Great Sun Tathagata Mantra!”

With a violent shout, golden radiance exploded from his body, coalescing into a golden Buddha. Amid the Sanskrit intonations of “Amitabha,” the Buddha too formed seals with its hands, reciting the true words of the mantra. Simultaneously, its right palm opened, a golden swastika forming in the center, and pressed down upon the youth.

This was the Buddha’s Five-Fingered Mountain, brilliant with golden light. The youth, unwilling to perish without a fight, let out a wild roar and once more reverted to his true form—the black monkey, howling at the sky.

“Cursed monk! If you leave me no path to live, then we’ll go down together!”

Bloodthirsty words spilled from the monkey’s mouth as his body began to swell rapidly.

“No!” Lin Qiu’s face changed, the data in his eyes shifting rapidly.

The black monkey’s aura surged, breaching the sixth tier to reach the seventh.

“He’s going to self-destruct!” Lin Qiu’s face turned pale.

A seventh-tier demon’s self-destruction had power rivaling that of a hydrogen bomb. If it went off, everything in the vicinity would be vaporized.

“Hmph, paltry tricks—you dare show off before me?” Flowerless sneered, coldly intoning, “Buddha’s Palm World!”

At his command, the golden Buddha’s swastika blazed with countless rays and crashed down on the black monkey.

The golden light transformed into chains that bound the black monkey tightly. The radiance swelled, conjuring an illusory realm in the void—thousands of monasteries, chanting in unison. Within this Buddha realm, golden lotuses blossomed in midair.

The black monkey was shackled by golden chains, suspended in the Buddha’s void, unleashing a piercing, agonized scream.

“Abomination, meet your end!”

With a furious cry, Flowerless hurled his demon-subduing staff, now a beam of golden light, straight into the Buddha’s realm. It became the Stabilizing Sea Needle, pinning the black monkey immovably in the void.

“Namo Amitabha!”

Sacred chanting lingered in their ears as the light in the black monkey’s eyes swiftly faded away.

The staff, infused with the power of a Buddhist master, was a nemesis to all evil spirits. Trapped in the palm-world of the Buddha, Flowerless reigned as its sovereign.

Seeing the black monkey perish, Lin Qiu and his companions were chilled to the bone—especially Lin Qiu, whose data analysis revealed Flowerless had reached the terrifying late stage of the seventh tier, just a step away from breaking into the eighth.

This monk was no friend—unyielding and utterly self-righteous. In his eyes, there was only good and evil, never right or wrong.

Now that the black monkey was dead, it was their turn.

A heavy dread settled over them as Flowerless retracted the Buddha realm, gripped his staff, and turned to them, murderous intent in his eyes.

“That damned bald brute!” Despair clouded Heize’s eyes—he knew today would mark his death anniversary in a year’s time.

This bald zealot was too inflexible, caring nothing for reason or justice. The murderous look in his eyes left no room for negotiation.

“Now I shall send you on your way,” Flowerless intoned icily. His demon-subduing staff began to spin rapidly on the ground.

The bronze rings atop it clattered, producing a dizzying melody. Golden light gathered along the staff, and faintly, the roars of dragons and tigers could be heard.

Lin Qiu and his companions’ expressions changed yet again.

“System…” Lin Qiu roared inwardly.

The system’s electronic voice rang out, ever unchanging: “This is a stubborn monk. Host may use the crystal cannon to turn him to dust.”

“But the host will then be hunted by the Grand Buddha Sect worldwide!”

“Damn—” Lin Qiu’s face darkened.

If Flowerless alone was this powerful, how many more masters did the Grand Buddha Sect possess?

He was stifled by frustration, but knew he had no choice. The dragon and tiger roars from the staff already made his head spin. If he waited any longer, he’d only suffer more.

“You leave me no choice!”

A deep voice squeezed from Lin Qiu’s throat. His gaze locked onto Flowerless, a cruel smile tugging at his lips as an overwhelming aura gathered around him.

Flowerless’s pupils contracted, a sense of impending death surging within him—the source, none other than the youth before him.

Flowerless frowned, his staff still spinning, the dragon and tiger roars merging into a cacophony. In the gold-lit air, dragons soared and tigers leapt, the aura oppressive—yet he retreated a step.

He sensed a cataclysmic force emanating from the young man before him.

“Demon, we shall meet again!”

Intimidated, Flowerless gripped his staff, left a parting threat, and with a leap, transformed into a shadow and vanished into the sky.

“He’s gone?” Lin Qiu was dumbfounded.

He’d just begun compressing his power, ready to load himself into the crystal cannon and blast Flowerless to oblivion. He was all set to fire, and now—just like that—the monk was gone.

Where was his earlier arrogance? His cold disdain?

Why was he now fleeing faster than a startled rabbit?!