Beast, Test and Information

Gazing at the enormous creature far away, Mo Yangling's smile faltered a little.

He could still feel its rage as the strange words it had spoken lingered in the wind. But he failed to understand the reason behind it.

The meaning behind its words was lost on the Monk, as he had focused too much on the overwhelming emotion during that moment.

Regardless of that, the fact that he had lived near such a Beast for so long was rather concerning... 

The Monk couldn't help but sweat a bit at the thought of what would have happened had the beast awakened while he was still weakened or before he had meditated properly.

"It seems like my life was always hanging on by a thin thread of luck."

It wasn't like he hadn't suspected something was off at times... In the first place, wild animals were usually drawn to rivers and sources of water, they were always good drinking and hunting spots.

But Mo Yangling hadn't spotted anything other than critters and insignificant grass snakes in the vicinity.

All larger, and more intelligent beasts stayed away from that river like it was carrying the plague. 

'This guy here probably scared off that White Snake too. I suppose I ought to try to defuse the situation a little bit; there is no point in creating new enemies.' 

And so, with speed that he hadn't ever gotten the chance to showcase, the monk dashed towards the Great Turtle. 

It seemed to reel back at his speed, its mouth opening as its tongue lashed out once more, this time with even more ferocity as it aimed to pulverize the Monk's entire upper body.

But Mo Yangling's instincts were rather well-trained from his past life of constant sparring. With a show of great dexterity, his body almost seemed to bend around the beast's gigantic tongue as he leaned to the side. 

The tongue continued and blasted apart the entire river behind the Monk, but it had still obviously missed its mark.

'Before speaking, I want to see how strong I've become though... This one is clearly stronger than me, and stronger than that White Snake, so I doubt I'll do much damage.' 

The monk dashed right in front of the startled beast, which was likely not expecting the human to charge in at all.

Before it could muster its mystical powers, the Monk entered the Bow stance of the Arhat Fist that he remembered on the fly.

His entire body leaned forward, and while his legs were firmly grounded, he took one step forward as he directed his palm, his fingers kept together, and the palm was slightly cupped to enhance the impact.

Instead of using just his breath as he would have in the previous life, he used his muscles to channel origin energy as he prepared to attack.

'Ahrat Fist: Ahrat Palm Strike!'

With a feral grin on his face, the monk unleashed the oldest form of Shaolin Kung Fu he had ever learned, striking with great ferocity at the beast's earthly outer shell.

For a brief moment, a gigantic ominous statue flashed behind the Monk, as the full effect of the straight palm reverberated throughout its shell.

The Monk briefly witnessed fissures appearing in the compacted earth covering the beast's shell, but those fissures closed back up just as fast.

The monk felt the shock and the Origin Energy violently returning to his arm, and his eyes widened as his palm trembled from the impact.

'What the hell?!? What a strange form of Origin Energy manipulation?!' 

In an instant, the monk used his own Origin Energy to disperse the impact of his own strike before jumping backwards slightly. 

But before he could try any other moves, his instincts flared at him once more, and he forced himself backwards, rolling away even further just as the earth around the beast's shell shook and extended forwards into spikes. 

The monk sweated a bit when seeing those dangerous spikes, filled to the brim with Origin Energy and bloodthirsty aura.

"You are centuries too early to fight me, human!" The Beast's sheer voice split the trees surrounding them as it roared in human tongue, driving the trees farther with it.

The Monk was not that shaken by it however, his long hair was just blown backwards as he stood in front of the beast and stared it into the eyes directly. 

The Turtle's eye seemed to tremble, although Mo Yangling had hardly done any damage, he had at least managed to get close enough to do something. 

'Hmph, that palm strike is certainly strong.

To think he'd be able to get through my 'Verdant Shell' so easily. Is he the King of some of the kingdoms nearby?

I've not heard of him though, and he's certainly not dressed like a king...'

The beast eyed Mo Yangling carefully, taking in the human's face and figure, and doing its best to remember any notable individuals of that description. 

But there were none. Furthermore, high-ranking cultivators and royalty were usually dressed with the finest fibres around, not wearing underwear. 

'Is he a young hermit then? My 'Earthbound Rebound' doesn't seem to have done any damage, and his reflexes seemed to be quite fine-tuned.

It appears I have to get serious to deal with this human.'

The Beast's aura and energy began to flare up as if it was getting ready for a pretty big move, but Mo Yangling's next move left it too stunned to continue.

The Beast had definitely expected the monk to keep attacking. But Mo Yangling immediately bowed his head slightly and brought his palms together in greeting.

"Namo Amitabha Buddha! Great Beast of the Forest! Beneath the heavens, I am but a humble monk! I apologize for testing my abilities in such a disrespectful manner!" 

The short mantra the monk extended as a greeting seemed to have taken the beast aback. 

"Strange, you seem to be a cultivator, but you do not speak like one. To think you would invoke the greeting of the wise man of brilliant light..." 

The Turtle's voice sounded confused this time around, some of its anger and hostility dissipating in the wind. 

The Monk's eyes briefly widened as he did not think the beast would recognize his little Mantra.

Indeed, it was probably the most widely used greeting among monks studying the Mahayana school of thought. However, he had no idea whether Buddhism of any kind existed in his current world at all, much less that 'Demonic Beasts' could identify it.

"I understand, Honorable Senior... So Buddhism has already spread underneath the heavens?" 

Realizing that he might have had another chance to fulfil his dream of becoming an abbot, the Monk's tone briefly turned hopeful.

"Oh, the Great Buddhist Sect was among the strongest in the human realm~ Its two Reverend Abbots were among the wisest humans to have graced this continent..."

There was no longer any hostility in the Beast's voice. Rather, its tone was now that of an elderly Wiseman.

"Hm? The Buddhist Sect was among the strongest? What happened then?" 

"I mostly live in seclusion, I have no details about what transpired, Venerable Monk.

I only know that the two Venerable Abbots passed away, unfortunately. And the Buddhist Sect's teachings have become more of a secular school of thought that others rarely follow."

Mo Yangling's entire face seemed to twist with complex emotions. A strange mix of disappointment and sadness. 

But his sadness seemed to only last for half a second before he regained his composure and turned to the wise Beast. 

"Do you have any other information at all?" His first reaction was to inquire further, hoping to hear more.

But the Beast didn't seem to have the answers he sought. The Turtle only shook its head as it spoke out.

"Those are all the details I have, it's been quite a few decades since then.

Those I have dispatched into the human realm have reported all they could find. Few specifics are known about the situation, and no other well-established organizations adhere to the Buddha's teachings."

The Monk, upon hearing this, seemed to be even more conflicted. 

The worst thing was that he couldn't even begin to understand what had occured. Hell, the powerful beast in front of him also didn't seem to know, which was even more concerning... 

'I do not even know enough about the outside world to formulate a plausible theory for what could have happened.

But things might be even more complicated than I initially believed if the Venerable Turtle's spies were unable to obtain additional information.'

In the Monk's eyes, the beast in front of him was likely a very high-ranking individual in that great forest.

Although the monk was able to dodge the beast's tongue, a more than likely probing attack, it was clear that he was outmatched in every way.

He doubted that he could have blocked that simple attack, or even dodged consecutively if a fight was to occur and get dragged out. 

But thankfully, the beast was now completely friendly to him. 

"Fate seems to have brought the two of us together in some way, young man." The Great Beast huffed as its gigantic head lowered to be more level with the Monk.

"I am known as Ren Huizhong, the Dragon of the Valley." The Turtle finally introduced itself to the Monk, its eyes sparkling with excitement.

Mo Yangling blinked a few times, looking over the body of the turtle and thinking of its nickname, before bringing his hands together in a martial salute. 

'Whatever, turtles and dragons are close enough to one another...' Of course, the monk refrained from voicing his thoughts out loud. 

"It is an honour to meet Venerable Ren! This humble monk is named Mo Yangling." 

"Oho~ There is nothing humble about you, Venerable Mo." The Beast churned out in laughter as it remembered their earlier altercation.

"Usually monks are more peaceful in nature, yet you seemed quite eager to test your mettle against me.

Not only that, but you have also grown this much with just a short time spent cultivating.

Even with the Enlightenment you achieved, this is unprecedented..." 

The ancient beast grinned enormously, finding humour in the whole thing, including the monk's now-respectable behaviour.

It was not as though Mo Yangling suddenly became friendly out of fear for his life. Actually, it was the exact opposite. His slight fear at the start had turned to confidence when rushing in to attack. 

Fear was nothing new to the Dragon of the Valley. It was a bloodline trait that allowed him to smell and feel it.

Other lesser beasts were naturally afraid of it due to its natural scent. Therefore, the Dragon Species had evolved a smell for fear over millennia of evolution.

And even though its draconic blood was very weak, Ren Huizhong had that power as well.

For that reason, the Turtle was able to sleep peacefully out in the open. Any beast that approached with even the slightest trace of fear would wake him from slumber.

However, Mo Yangling showed no fear at all during his stay previously. It contributed to his ability to enter the beast's domain without any problems at all.

This, along with his lack of cultivation, made it difficult for the King of that Forest to locate him.

The beast was aware of the monk once he began his cultivation. However, it also understood that the human had attained enlightenment.

He therefore made the decision that, upon awakening, he would simply drive the human away.

The beast never imagined that a human who had only recently begun to cultivate would fight him so fiercely.

"Ha~ I have always had my issues following some of the core tenets of the Buddhist teachings. However, I stand by their core values with all my heart." 

"Hmm? I was under the belief that non-violence was a core value of Buddhism?" The Dragon of the Valley sneered a bit at the monk, its gaze judging him slightly. 

"Ammithaba, if violence was prohibited to monks then they would not all be training in martial arts so diligently... 

In the wisdom of no self, the Buddha acts beyond good and evil."

The monk smiled as he cited a verse from one of his favourite Mantras. The Dragon seemed confused for a moment.

"Hmm? I had not heard that one before. I must say that you Buddhist monks are quite inventive..." 

"Huh? You've not heard of the principles of emptiness and no-self?"

Mo Yangling was quite stunned, as those principles were quite well-developed in his past life. 

But the beast's confusion was only heightened by the principles he mentioned.

"I must admit I have not. I was quite well versed in Buddhist beliefs, they were the only human school of thought that adhered properly to the rules of the world after all..." 

"... That's... Confusing news." 

The monk muttered as he looked in the distance.

'Don't tell me, have Buddhists in this world never evolved from peace-loving and leaf-eating pacifists?' 

Not only that, another issue was raised, as the monk now also understood that Buddhism in his past world was likely fundamentally different from Buddhism in his current one. 

A smile quickly rose to his lips.

'Doesn't that mean... I can just start my own Buddhist Sect?'