"I was only half-believing before, but now I'm quite sure you've broken through to the unity of heaven and man," Abbot Tianwu said.
The reason was simple: in front of Ning Beichen, he lacked the ability to resist at all. Tianwu himself was a Grandmaster. If Ning Beichen hadn't achieved the unity of heaven and man, he wouldn't have been able to crush him so effortlessly.
"Actually, there's no problem with me telling you, but your expressions make me feel utterly disgusted."
Abbot Tianwu became furious, looking as if he wanted to skin Ning Beichen alive.
"Tsk tsk, look at that. Even now, you're still unconvinced. You still feel you're on a high horse, untouchable, and that everyone should believe in your beliefs. If they don't, you consider them heretics. This is your most genuine inner thought, and it's precisely how you act," Ning Beichen said to Tianwu in a sarcastic tone.
"You are blaspheming the Buddha!"
Tianwu roared, but his head was then stomped down by Ning Beichen.
"The Buddha resides in everyone's heart, not in their mouths. There is a Buddha for good and a Buddha for evil. Otherwise, why would there be Rakshasas and Asuras? Your Buddha is merely your own desire. Don't label yourself so nobly," Ning Beichen said calmly.
"Utter nonsense!"
Tianwu retorted desperately, refusing to admit Ning Beichen's words.
"It seems I can't reason with you. Since you like Buddha so much, I'll send you to meet your Buddha."
Ning Beichen pressed down with his foot, and Abbot Tianwu's head turned into a smashed watermelon.
Finally, Ning Beichen looked at the monks in the main hall. He ultimately didn't have the heart to send them away, but he crippled the cultivation of the Four Great Dharma Protectors.
After Ning Beichen left, there was a wave of wails in the main hall, and the sound of the bell rang incessantly.
The affairs of Guangwen Temple had nothing to do with ordinary people, and they were unaware of these events. However, when some Buddhist disciples heard the news, some were indignant, some felt regret, some sneered coldly, and some kicked them while they were down.
"This Ning Beichen is too vicious. Guangwen Temple merely invited him for an exchange, yet he cruelly killed Abbot Tianwu. This person has descended into demonic ways," some monks complained loudly.
"Enough. Don't you know what kind of person Tianwu of Guangwen Temple is? The methods he used to become abbot back then were anything but peaceful. He's finally hit a brick wall this time. In my opinion, he deserved it," some monks expressed dissatisfaction with Tianwu's actions.
"Regardless, Tianwu was the abbot of our Buddhist sect. Even if he was wrong, Ning Beichen shouldn't have killed him."
This was spoken by a high-ranking monk of the Buddhist sect.
"Then what do you want? If you have the guts, go find Ning Beichen for revenge!"
However, there were other high-ranking monks, and they retorted sarcastically from the side.
Meanwhile, in a mysterious place high up in the mountains, there was a temple situated on a cliff, named the Hanging Temple.
A monk sat on a lotus cushion with his head bowed, his hands clasped in prayer, chanting scriptures over and over. A young monk tapped a wooden fish beside him.
After about an hour, the monk finished chanting. Just then, a monk in simple saffron robes entered.
"Abbot, Abbot Tianwu is dead, the Four Great Dharma Protectors' cultivation has been crippled, and all the guardian celestial beings have been killed. It's rumored that Ning Beichen did it."
Upon hearing this news, the old monk's brow furrowed slightly, and he then asked,
"It's said that Ning Beichen has already broken through from Grandmaster to the realm of the unity of heaven and man. Is this news true?"
"The rumor is likely true, otherwise, how could he have the ability to kill Tianwu and the Four Great Dharma Protectors?" the monk who entered replied truthfully.
"Have you investigated thoroughly? Is that Ning Beichen from that place?" the old monk continued to ask.
"Someone checked his origins and found everything to be traceable. We can be certain that he is not from that place," the entering monk replied.
"Oh, then Ning Beichen is indeed not to be underestimated," the old monk said slowly.
In truth, in this world, the path of cultivation has not ended, and even the path of Buddhism has not ended.
For example, their Buddhist cultivators can only cultivate up to the Diamond Bodhi realm, equivalent to a Grandmaster's cultivation. For many years, no one has achieved the Bodhisattva body.
This was precisely why Tianwu had captured Ning Beichen – he simply wanted to learn from him how Ning Beichen had broken through to the realm of the unity of heaven and man.
It was a pity that he chose the wrong method.
In fact, Ning Beichen was not a particularly selfish person. If they had spoken to him properly and shown him respect, Ning Beichen might not have refused to communicate with them.
Unfortunately, he was an idiot. All these years of cultivation had been wasted.
However, it was not entirely unexpected. He had renounced the world and become an outsider, completely disregarding Ning Beichen. This led to a strained relationship between the Buddhist sect and Ning Beichen.
This was not just Guangwen Temple's affair; it concerned the entire Buddhist sect.
Now, both the Taoist and Buddhist sects had sent people to contact Ning Beichen, but they had all suffered greatly, failing to gain any advantage from Ning Beichen. Instead, they had incurred his enmity.
"If Ning Beichen has truly taken that step and reached the realm of the unity of heaven and man, his martial prowess is already invincible in the world. Mortal means are likely unable to harm him. It would be best if this could be resolved. If not, do not make an enemy of him," the old monk said, fingering his prayer beads.
"Abbot, Guangwen Temple has sent us a plea for aid, requesting us to jointly deal with Ning Beichen. Should we in the Hanging Temple just let it go?" the entering monk asked resentfully.
"No need to rush. There are great changes coming to heaven and earth. That Ning Beichen won't be able to be arrogant for too much longer," the old monk said mysteriously.
"Yes, Abbot," the entering monk replied respectfully.
After the monk left, the old monk stood up and went into an empty room. In the room, a painting of a Buddha image hung.
The old monk bowed several times to the Buddha image and then spoke to it,
"Buddha, you ordered the Hanging Temple to close its gates for a hundred years, saying that the Hanging Temple could only emerge when someone broke the laws of this realm. Now that person has appeared, this disciple is ready to open the passage and welcome the Buddha's return."
After speaking, the old monk bowed again to the Buddha image and then walked to a room in the Hanging Temple that disciples were never allowed to enter. This room was embedded within the stone mountain.
The old monk entered the room and saw a swastika symbol on the floor. He solemnly opened a red box inside the room.
He took out a Zen staff from the box and inserted it into the center of the swastika symbol.
Following that, the old monk sat on a meditation cushion and began to chant scriptures.
The swastika symbol on the floor, where the Zen staff was inserted, began to emit golden light. After about fifteen minutes, a mysterious vortex, like a starry sky, appeared within the swastika symbol.