The Demon with Holy Radiance

In the dilapidated temple of Great Virtue Temple, the old Monk’s chanting was once again cut short by a sudden pang of pain.

A huge hole appeared in his chest, as if it had been violently torn open.

A dark figure shot out from within it, appearing before the old Monk. It turned on its heel, about to flee.

But suddenly, the dark figure froze.

Yang An, leading the Bow Lady, escaped from the black hole that had appeared in the Eternal Prison. In the blink of an eye, he was back in the Great Virtue Temple where he had first arrived.

He sensed the powerful aura behind him and was about to quickly leave with the Bow Lady.

’I don’t know who this old Monk is. I never saw him during my time as an undercover agent in Great Virtue Temple. But his aura is terrifying, far beyond what Hai Shu could compare to at this point.’

Now that he had escaped the Eternal Prison, he needed to get away as fast as possible. It was best to avoid a confrontation with the old Monk.

But to Yang An’s surprise, just as he tightened his grip on the Bow Lady’s hand, ready to activate the Light and Shadow Escape Technique to teleport away...

...he felt an emptiness behind him.

The Bow Lady, who had just followed him out of the Eternal Prison, had vanished without a trace.

He stopped and turned to look.

Flickering lamps dotted the temple, but only he and the old Monk were there. The Bow Lady was nowhere to be seen.

’How can this be?!’

Yang An froze.

’Just a second ago, I’d brought her out. Why did she suddenly disappear?’

’Did this old Monk do something?’

The pained expression on the old Monk’s face from the bloody hole in his chest quickly vanished, replaced by a smile. He was sizing up Yang An.

"Benefactor, you killed a great number of Demon Fiends that my Great Virtue Temple had suppressed in the Eternal Prison, and you also killed my junior brother, Hai Shu. Now that you’ve left the Eternal Prison, why not depart at once? Why stop?"

His smile was profound and enigmatic, as if he could see right through Yang An’s thoughts and knew the entire story.

Yang An looked back at him, certain that he had never seen this old Monk at Great Virtue Temple before.

And for some reason, the old Monk’s eyes seemed incredibly pure. Yang An saw no hint of aggression on his face, only what looked like genuine compassion.

"Did you do this?"

he asked.

Although the other man’s Cultivation Level and aura were powerful, Yang An had no choice but to brace himself and confront him over the Bow Lady’s sudden disappearance.

But upon hearing Yang An’s question, the old Monk slowly shook his head.

"It was not me. It was you."

"What do you mean?"

Yang An frowned. ’This guy seems to be speaking in riddles.’

"What I mean, Benefactor, is that you cannot take her away."

The old Monk said with a smile. He swiped a hand across his chest, and the torn flesh, along with his ripped Kasaya and Monk’s Robe, was restored to its original state.

"And what if I insist on taking her with me?"

Yang An’s expression darkened. He had to help the Bow Lady escape her suffering.

"Benefactor, you misunderstand. I mean to say... all of this is nothing more than flowers in a mirror and the moon reflected in water. The past is a mix of illusion and reality. Surely, you must know this in your heart?"

The old Monk’s sudden words left Yang An stunned once more.

And his next words threw Yang An into even greater confusion.

"Everything here has already happened. It is fact, and it cannot be changed. Where one comes from and where one goes—it is all a matter of cause and effect.

She came, so you should not have come.

You left, so she should not leave.

Even if you came here for a short time, that is all it can be. This place is unchangeable."

The old Monk chanted a Buddhist phrase, each word seeming to pierce straight to Yang An’s heart.

"Since I’ve already come here, why can’t I take her with me?"

Yang An actually understood quite well. Everything here had already happened in the past. It was because of that eye—and perhaps the Forbidden Artifact Fragment, the Energy Barrier—that he had accidentally entered this place from the Bow Lady’s Consciousness Realm.

He just wanted to take the past version of the Bow Lady away, to spare her from the suffering she had endured. But as for where they would go after he took her, he couldn’t even imagine.

Now, the old Monk had laid these contradictions bare, but Yang An was not willing to accept it.

He had clearly brought the Bow Lady out of the Eternal Prison.

The old Monk shook his head again.

"You cannot take her away. Even if I were to release her right now, she would not remember what just happened.

Besides, if I’m not mistaken, your time is almost up.

All of this is ultimately an illusion. To have seen it, even for a moment, is precious enough."

Yang An fell silent. He couldn’t refute the old Monk’s words, but in his heart, he refused to believe them.

’Considering this is Great Virtue Temple, the people here are no saints. I shouldn’t be so quick to believe what this old Monk says.’

But every word the old Monk spoke suggested he saw through everything, even knowing clearly that Yang An did not belong to this time period.

Besides, the old Monk’s words were not just empty words. From the moment he escaped the Eternal Prison, Yang An had felt a repulsive force.

It was as if everything here was rejecting his existence, trying to forcibly expel him.

This was why Yang An felt both anxious and unwilling to give up.

Seeing Yang An fall silent, the old Monk gave a faint smile.

"Hai Shu."

He suddenly called out Hai Shu’s religious name.

The next moment, Hai Shu—whom Yang An had already killed in the Eternal Prison—appeared, safe and sound, manifesting upon the old Monk’s body.