Little Thunderclap Temple.
Quinn Shepherd looked around. Most of the scenery and layout here closely resembled Great Thunderclap Temple. After all, Little Thunderclap Temple had only developed for a few centuries and lacked the deep heritage of its predecessor, so it could only imitate and copy.
However, the number of monster-monks here was no less than at Great Thunderclap Temple. Little Thunderclap Temple could be called the only holy land in the Great Ruins, with no rivals. The sheer number of strange beasts in the Great Ruins made the temple extraordinarily prosperous.
Many monster-monks came and went, all dressed impeccably and polite to others. Quinn even saw a flood dragon coiled inside the temple, preaching scriptures to many beasts that had yet to take human form. In other halls, great demon monks taught divine arts and treasure-refining methods to crowds of monster-monks.
"This really feels like a monster civilization."
Quinn couldn’t help but marvel. Regardless of Little Tathagata’s methods, the fact that he single-handedly built Little Thunderclap Temple from nothing to this thriving state was already worthy of admiration.
Little Tathagata and the Elder Buddha were fellow disciples, both about the same age. The Elder Buddha had exhausted his lifespan and died in battle at the God-Severing Mountains, but Little Tathagata was a great demon who had attained the Dao, with longevity to spare.
With him presiding over Little Thunderclap Temple, the place only grew more prosperous.
Suddenly, two great demons leapt into the air and clashed fiercely. Sometimes they soared into the clouds, sometimes they battled down in the valley—their attacks were swift and their moves ferocious, truly formidable.
"Those two senior brothers are no pushovers," Victor Bloom said in surprise, glancing upward.
Quinn was overjoyed and shouted, "Big guy!"
One of the great demons was a burly monster-monk, muscles bulging all over, with only some black hair left on his face and hands. He wielded a monk's staff against his opponent. Hearing Quinn, he immediately knocked his opponent flying with the staff, leapt over, landed with a boom, and exclaimed, "Little runt! Baldy, where?"
His last question was directed at Little Tathagata, who couldn't help but get angry. He slapped him on the head and scolded, "Who calls their master 'bald donkey'? I'm not some enlightened donkey!"
The Demon Ape, Battle-Void, quickly covered his head and stammered, "Little... where?"
Little Tathagata couldn't help but laugh and cry. "Met him at the foot of the mountain, so I invited him over as a guest."
The Demon Ape grinned, about to give Quinn a hug, only to find Quinn was too short. Quinn had grown a lot, now about as tall as Butcher, just a bit shorter than Apothecary, but the Demon Ape was still massively built. Even as a child, he was already bigger than the forest itself.
Now that he'd grown up, if he revealed his true form, he probably wouldn't be much smaller than Bruno the Dragon-Qilin.
Currently, in human form, he was nearly two zhang tall.
Suddenly, the great demon he'd been fighting lunged at him again, eager to continue the match. "Battle-Void Senior Brother, let's fight again!" he shouted.
The Demon Ape grew furious, grabbed the monster-monk by the neck. The monk instantly lost his spirit, limbs drooping, tail hanging down behind him, and wagged it ingratiatingly.
The Demon Ape set him down in front of Quinn and declared loudly, "Meat, guest!"
Quinn glanced at the bald-headed monster-monk, who was trembling and crawling on the ground. Quinn quickly shook his head, "Since he's your junior brother, if you're the host, I can't eat him."
The Demon Ape scratched his head and looked at Little Tathagata. Little Tathagata's chubby face twitched with suppressed anger. "Disciple, your friend is here—are you going to use your master to treat him too?"
The Demon Ape hurriedly shook his head.
Quinn laughed, "It's been ages since we met. No need to think about treating me to meat—just follow local custom and eat vegetarian. Even a Tathagata, no matter how tough, can't handle that."
The Demon Ape was delighted: "Vegetarian, strong!"
Selena asked curiously, "Does Senior Brother Battle-Void always speak so concisely?"
Little Tathagata replied, "Battle-Void has great Buddha-nature—he treasures words like gold. Every word he says is full of meaning. That's exactly why I took him as a disciple."
Selena was puzzled. She could see he was thrifty with words, but as for great Buddha-nature, she couldn't quite tell.
How could grabbing your junior brother to treat your guest as meat show Buddha-nature?
The Demon Ape followed them up the mountain. When they reached the summit, Quinn looked around and saw that it resembled the Golden Summit of Great Thunderclap Temple, except with many more stone statues—likely set here to ward off the darkness.
On the mountaintop stood rows of Buddha pagodas, each with monks cultivating inside. Most were bird-headed or beast-headed monks, draped in yellow kasayas, their expressions solemn.
These monks were likely powerful great demons from the Great Ruins, cultivating here and enjoying considerable status.
Quinn’s eye twitched. The cultivation of these great demons was terrifying, their demon qi overwhelming. Some monks’ demon qi was so dense it made even him nervous—these were likely Cult Master-level powerhouses!
Some even had a bloody aura mixed into their demon qi, clearly stained by many past killings!
"I can’t take it anymore! Day after day of vegetarian meals and chanting—my mouth is going bland! When will it end?"
Suddenly, a bird-headed monk in yellow robes leapt up, tore off his robe, and shook his neck. Instantly, countless golden feathers burst from his neck as his body swelled, and more bird heads sprouted from the feathers—nine in all! When he spread his wings, his wingspan covered dozens of acres!
"I’ve rampaged across the Great Ruins, eaten countless people and beasts, and my karmic debts are already off the charts! Why bother with vegetarianism and chanting anymore?"
The nine-headed giant bird, looking like a peacock, flapped its wings and screeched, "These sins can’t be washed away! I’m going to eat my fill!"
The other monks all took to the air. Quinn even noticed several human monks among them, working together to subdue the nine-headed peacock. They called out, "Senior Brother Ming, you’re being controlled by your inner demon again—wake up!"