The Divine Nun of the South Sea stood in the sky, between the stars, as she overlooked the daemon and demon. She was filled with unspeakable fury and hatred.
As someone deep within buddhism, Xiao An understood what the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty represented unlike a “secular disciple” like Li Qingshan. That was a true enemy of the buddha. From its very source, it defied and revolted against the buddha, even more heretic than daemons and demonfolk. Not a single buddhist cultivator could allow its existence, let alone the Divine Nun of the South Sea who originated from the school of vinaya.
All explanations were useless. In a single instant, she made the most rational decision—apart from matters involving Li Qingshan, she never felt any emotion—which was to kill the Divine Nun of the South Sea then and there.
Xiao An met the Divine Nun of the South Sea’s gaze calmly. Her clear, deep eyes were completely devoid of emotion. There was neither remorse nor so-called guilt. Her mental composure that had once made the Divine Nun of the South Sea praise her very much only made her seem chilling now.
They did not exchange a single word, but Li Qingshan already knew what Xiao An had decided on. This was not the outcome he hoped to see. He had always been about keeping clear tabs on his debts and getting revenge when deserved, but he refused to owe anyone any favours either.
“Yes, there’s no need to say anything more! One Will, you’ll return to the South sea with me and swear you’ll never set foot outside the Clear Precept nunnery again. That way, you still might have a chance at surviving. Otherwise, it won’t just be the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga. All the disciples of buddhism in the world will be your enemy,” the Divine Nun of the South Sea let out a long sigh and said resolutely. Then she recovered her stringent demeanour.
Golden sanskrit that resembled totemic inscriptions appeared on the back of Xiao An’s right hand. That was the preceptual decree the divine nun had left on her. The preceptual decree shone with a hazy, resplendent light, emanating from the back of her hand and enveloping her entire body.
Immediately, all of her powers were restrained.
Even the Divine Nun of the South Sea had never expected the life-saving trump card she had left with Xiao An to become the shackles that bound her. When the Divine Nun of the South Sea recalled everything they had been through together during the past decade, her heart throbbed. She sighed and said, “Don’t worry. I’ll be accompanying you until the day you learn your mistakes and turn back!”
Xiao An was as calm and emotionless as before. Perhaps she could not be regarded as cold, but truly emotionless. As the hazy golden light spread over her, pale-white flames burned silently under her robes. With a boom, they burst through the golden restraints, and she had already become a glossy skeleton.
However, the preceptual decree was firmly adhered to her hand bones like glue, but all that remained were traces now, clinging on like some kind of obsession. She extended her left hand and brushed over it gently, wiping away the final traces. At the same time, she severed their relationship!
“Wretched disciple… you!” The Divine Nun of the South Sea was exasperated.
“Master, I’ve studied under your tutelage for many years. Just a single preceptual decree can no longer restrain me. I won’t be restrained by you,” Xiao An said calmly. Having turned into a white skeleton, she came off as even colder and more emotionless.
“If that’s the case, show me what you’re capable of. Show me just how impressive your demonic art is!” The Divine Nun of the South Sea swung her hand, and a halo rose up from behind her, radiating with majestic, dignified light.
“Divine nun, why must you be so harsh? It’s not like we’ve done anything completely at odds with humanity and nature. Are you really going to try and kill us just because of a cultivation method?!” Li Qingshan still struggled to understand her.
“One Will, let me ask you one last time. Are you going to return with me or not?” The Divine Nun of the South Sea completely ignored him, only asking Xiao An.
Before Xiao An could even reply, Li Qingshan bellowed, “Don’t even think about that!”
“Fine then. Today, I’ll purge demons for the greater good and clean up my school!” A shabby buddhist scripture appeared in the Divine Nun of the South Sea’s hand, and she began to chant it. Her tone was simple and all over the place. “The motivation of the precepts is to prevent evil and mistakes and to prohibit the four māra, a path to renouncing secular affairs. Those without precepts cannot be great. It is of significance and prominence to the three yānas, the dwelling of all good…”
Note: This directly comes from the preface in scroll one of the Chinese vinaya translation of the Dharmagupta. There are 60 scrolls in total, which are broken into four sections. Only part of the text has been formally translated into English (basically the important parts), so I’ve translated this part according to my interpretation. The four māra refer to this, while the three yāna refer to this.
“The school of vinaya is not skilled at battle. They’re more focused on restraints and suppression, not directly harming the enemy. The Divine Nun of the South Sea rarely fights with anyone too. She’s not even as strong as the Thousand Tendrils King from earlier. If we work together, we have over a fifty percent chance of killing her,” Xiao An communicated. The Buddha Slaying sword was already in her hand.
Li Qingshan grabbed Xiao An’s hand and pulled her behind him. “She’s shown you great kindness. Don’t do anything!”
“If she remains, endless trouble awaits us.” Xiao An could obviously understand his thoughts. She would only try and understand his thoughts too. However, if they did not kill the Divine Nun of the South Sea today, their secrets would definitely spread across the world. They would die before they even began carrying out their plan to return to the Green province.
“We work hard to become stronger not just to do what we want, but also to not do what we don’t want. Leave this to me. I’ll teach this old nun a lesson so that she comes to her senses.” Li Qingshan smiled at Xiao An. He did not blame her for her choice. However, he did not bend his principles so easily just because of the advantages and disadvantages involved.
Xiao An nodded gently. She supported all of his decisions.
At this moment, the Divine Nun of the South Sea’s chanting became even grander. The entire world became solemn and respectful. Li Qingshan and Xiao An were like two criminals, awaiting judgement.
However, Li Qingshan was not one to plead guilty and allow himself to be at the whim of laws. He laughed aloud. “Divine nun, eat my fist first!” Immediately, he turned into a scarlet streak of light and shot over.
“Dharmagupta-vinaya, Body of Vinaya!” The halo behind the Divine Nun of the South Sea glowed brightly, and she pointed at Li Qingshan.
A holy glow enveloped him completely. A string of prayer beads suddenly appeared in Li Qingshan’s hand, and his body became draped in a monk’s robes. His head full of scarlet hair all fell to the ground, completing tonsure and his initiation to monkhood. Immediately, a feeling of benevolence overwhelmed him, repenting on his evil deeds of the past.
“Divine nun, don’t forget. I’m also technically half a disciple of buddhism, and I have no intentions of harming you. I just hope that we can calm down and have a talk.”
Li Qingshan paused slightly before continuing onwards. His mind had already been tempered by the suffering from the Clam King of Mirage Sea’s illusions, and he had the spirit turtle to guard his consciousness. The techniques of the Divine Nun of the South Sea were wondrous, but they were not particularly effective against him.
In the blink of an eye, he arrived before the Divine Nun of the South Sea, hurling out a punch!
“Dharmagupta-vinaya, Law of Vinaya!” The Divine Nun of the South Sea read from the scripture as she formed a seal with both hands, waving them at Li Qingshan.
Immediately, Li Qingshan felt all of his daemon qi disperse. He could not even unleash the power of tremors. All of his abilities and techniques had become useless. However, he only agreed with Xiao An’s previous words even more. The techniques of the school of vinaya truly were not suited for direct confrontations, especially when it was one-against-one.
Even without his abilities, his strength of the ox demon was not just for show. It was lacking some sharpness and murderousness, but the strength was truly there. None of it was fake.
In the final moments, the Divine Nun of the South Sea drew a stick of discipline and swung down at Li Qingshan’s head. If he had been a regular great cultivator, he would have been in danger of having his head cracked in then and there, but even if Li Qingshan received it, it could not be regarded as lethal.
It’s just as Xiao An said. In a direct confrontation, the Divine Nun of the South Sea isn’t even as great as that Demon King!
At this moment, a strange expression flooded the Divine Nun of the South Sea’s face. She changed her seal and said sternly, “Dharmagupta-vinaya, Conduct of Vinaya!”
Li Qingshan stiffened up, becoming completely immobilised, but he did not care. The effects of the preceptual decree would not last for too long. Even if he allowed the Divine Nun of the South Sea to attack him, it could not force him to rebirth.
However, the Divine Nun of the South Sea completely disregarded him. She used this opportunity to shoot towards Xiao An!
