Chapter 568 – Within the Demon Suppression Hall (1/2)
Several thousand years ago, the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga had once produced a buddhist genius known to be unrivalled, yet in the end, the monastery suffered tremendous losses, almost falling into decline. With this as a lesson, how could the Dauntless Monk afford to be careless? He asked the Unraging Monk again, “And why do you want that kid as your disciple?”
“I just find him pleasing to the eye,” the Unraging Monk said as he chuckled. He could sense something special from Li Qingshan.
Just when the Dauntless Monk wanted to ask further, the Unraging Monk said, “Look, they’re already there.”
It was as if they had been sucked into a black vortex, reaching the bottom of the water, passing through and setting foot in a different world.
Li Qingshan and Xiao An stood hand in hand. They looked around, only to see they had already arrived in a magnificent room. The ground was layered with golden tiles, while gold leaf covered the walls, detailed with graceful patterns. It resembled an imperial palace, forming a clear contrast with the gate that was close to falling apart.
However, when Li Qingshan studied the surroundings carefully, he discovered this was not an imperial palace, but a prison.
The room they were standing in was a cage. Before him was a row of glistening bars, blocking the path out, while opposite of the bars were similar rooms.
Li Qingshan walked over and pushed gently. With a clank, the prison door opened.
He arrived in a wide passageway, which was also beautifully decorated, but on the two sides of the passageway were various cages of different sizes.
Li Qingshan asked in confusion, “Why is the Demon Suppression hall built like a prison?”
When the Demon Suppression hall was first constructed, it did indeed function as a prison. The monks of the monastery would capture and subdue demonic cultivators, throwing them into the Demon Suppression hall to be detained, giving them the opportunity to turn over a new leaf.
However, during the several millennia since the Great Xia empire was established, the world experienced peace and tranquility, and demonic cultivators faded away from public sight. The conflict between good and bad ceased to exist. Even if cultivators made trouble, there was the Hawkwolf Guard that could capture them or hunt them down. There was no need for the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga to do anything.
True, large sects would always remain vigilant. They were aware of the nature of bloody conflict of the cultivation world. They would never be corroded away by the false impression of “a peaceful world”. They ground their blades constantly, ready to confront bloody conflict at any time. If buddhist scriptures, dharma, and benevolence were the only things they had relied on, the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga would have been destroyed countless times already.
While internal competitions could maintain a competitive mindset, it was nowhere near true conflict. As a result, whether it be the Sword Collection palace or the Umbral Yin sect, they all established facilities like these.
“Argh!”
A shrill shriek rang out from the end of the passageway, filled with pain and refusal. It echoed throughout the magnificent prison, enough to send chills down the spines of people.
Li Qingshan’s eyes narrowed as he withdrew his aura. He flew over to the end of the passageway with great speed and agility, only to see a group of people kneeling on the ground, huddling into a group. Fresh blood flowed out between them, dyeing the golden tiles red.
Among them was a child around seven or eight with his guts spilling out. They were grabbing his innards and shoving them into their mouths. The child was still alive, putting up a desperate struggle as he shrieked in pain and hatred.
“Stop!” Li Qingshan bellowed. The group of people looked over, all covered in blood and hideous. It basically resembled the classical scenes of zombie films from his past life.
But to Li Qingshan’s surprise, they did not lunge over immediately. The burliest man among them even wiped the blood from his mouth as he asked, “You a newcomer?”
The tone of his voice was rather strange, but he was clearly intelligent and not a mad, wild beast. Yet, he behaved like he was not doing anything wrong at all. The child continued to scream. It was truly as strange as it could get.
“Release him!” Li Qingshan was taken aback before shouting out coldly. He had never thought something as tragic as cannibalism would happen in the renowned Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga. These monks were far more vicious than he had imagined them to be.
“Do you want some?” The burly man’s expression changed, but his tone seemed like he was talking about a pig or a lamb, not a child.
At this moment, Xiao An arrived too, standing beside Li Qingshan. The burly man’s eyes lit up, filled with undisguised lust. His crotch actually responded immediately, and he stood up without the slightest hint of shame.
The other men were no different. They opened their mouths and drooled. They were clearly people, yet they seemed to become wild beasts in the heat all of a sudden.
“Is that woman yours? Give her to me or die!”
The man pointed at Xiao An and said to Li Qingshan. Before he had even finished, there was a bang, and his head exploded like a watermelon. Brain matter and blood covered the golden walls nearby.
“You better use your head before you talk!”
Li Qingshan pulled back his leg as he said that.
“Roar!”
The other men lunged over wildly. Veins popped from their bodies, their muscles bulged, and teeth protruded from their mouths, producing howls like wild beasts.