Legend of the Great Sage

de hall and sat down.
An acolyte served up some tea, which the Seven Treasures Monk King only used to moisten his lips before setting it down softly.

“Is the tea not to your liking, senior brother?” the Dauntless monk asked.

“I’ve drunk too much of the Three Leaved Bodhi tea from the Spirit Kṣetra temple, so I just find any other tea to be lacking a sense of chan now,” said the Seven Treasures Monk King.

“The monastery is small, so we don’t have any better tea.
I do have a few jars of fine alcohol though, if you don’t mind, senior brother Seven Treasures.” The Unraging monk chuckled and finished off the tea in a single gulp.

“Junior brother Unraging is still the same as before.
A lot of your murderousness is now gone, but you do seem to be drinking more and eating more meat than before.
The school of chan is not bound by rigid rules, but we still have to uphold the buddhist precepts.
Otherwise, how else are we supposed to serve as an example to all living beings?” The Seven Treasures Monk King frowned slightly.

“Only senior brother Seven Treasures is capable of carrying out the great mission of serving as an example to all living beings.
Someone as slow-witted as me can only look up to you,” said the Unraging monk.

The Seven Treasures Monk King noticed the sarcasm and smiled.
“I’d advise junior brother against being overly unbridled today.”

The Unraging monk raised an eyebrow and was about to speak when the Dauntless monk asked, “No one visits without a reason.
Senior brother, why have you come to the Green province instead of cultivating in peace in the Dragon province?”

“Speaking of this, this has to do with junior brother Unraging.
Do you have a disciple called Li Qingshan?” the Seven Treasures Monk King asked.

The Unraging monk shivered inside.
“That’s correct!”

“Seven days ago, the third crown prince of Great Xia, Si Qing, submitted a written statement to the imperial court about Li Qingshan practising demonic arts, becoming a Demon King and serving as a lackey of the Demon domain.
Our Spirit Kṣetra temple is responsible for all monks across the world.
Under the orders of the grand preceptor of the left, I’ve specially come to investigate this.
May I ask where Li Qingshan is right now? Please tell him to come here and meet me!” the Seven Treasures Monk King said plainly, but he gave off the sense that he would not take no for an answer, directly treating the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga as his own backyard.
When he recalled Si Qing’s instructions and promise before he had set off, he became even more confident inside.

Si Qing had lost his body to Li Qingshan.
He had found a new one after much difficulty and spent a lot of time melding his soul with it, but it was still unavoidable for his cultivation to take a drastic hit.
His hatred for Li Qingshan was immense.

Originally, a crown prince losing his body and almost dying was enough for the imperial court to fly into a rage, but he had faced Li Qingshan in a fair duel, and it was even him who had suggested the deathmatch.
If they tried to stir up trouble from this perspective, they would be asking to be humiliated.
They would only become laughing stocks, so they came up with this idea instead.

The Dauntless monk frowned.
Sure enough, he had not come with kind intentions.

The Spirit Kṣetra temple was known as the greatest temple in the world, the leading sect among buddhism in the nine provinces, while the abbot of the Spirit Kṣetra temple happened to be one of the two grand preceptors of Great Xia.
They possessed the status of leading all buddhist disciples in the world.
Even the succession of abbots in the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga had to be reported to the Spirit Kṣetra temple and be approved by them.
It was just a formality, but that was enough to demonstrate their influence.

Aside from their status, they also possessed the corresponding strength.
They had produced Monk Kings endlessly.
Even with how much Great Xia had declined so far, the Dauntless monk still dared not underestimate them.

“Bastard!” The Unraging monk cursed.

“What did you say?” The Seven Treasures Monk King’s face sank.

“Senior brother Seven Treasures, don’t misunderstand.
I’m not talking about you, but that kid Si Qing.
He lost in the duel and instead of refocusing on his cultivation, he’s slandering my disciple, calling him a Demon King.
He really is an embarrassment to the imperial clan!”

“Our Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga has a cultivation method unique to us, the Demon Suppression Statuary.
It seems rather similar to demonic arts, but it’s well and truly a buddhist cultivation method.
That’s the cultivation method I practise, so does that make me a Demon King too?”

The Unraging monk said that and demonstrated the Demon Suppression Statuary.
He radiated with demon qi, but he possessed a buddhist nature about him too.