NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 4:
Chapter 4: Shattering the Golden Body, Entering Reincarnation—Repaying the Karmic Debts of a Past Life:
[Fahai never came looking for you again. You continued playing with your friends as usual. However, when the Dragon Boat Festival arrived, your father, Su Donglai, took you and your mother to Jinshan Temple to personally apologize.]
[As you stepped into Jinshan Temple, the great bell in the back mountain rang three times on its own. Everyone in the temple heard it and assumed something major had happened. Even the monks in the front hall hurried toward the back mountain.]
[At that moment, Fahai appeared.]
[He welcomed you warmly.]
[Your father and mother went to the Great Hall to offer incense and formally apologize to Fahai for what had happened before. Meanwhile, you ran around the temple, eventually wandering into the Sutra Library.]
[Inside, you read many Buddhist scriptures. Before you realized it, night had fallen.]
[The monks, along with your parents, searched for you for a long time. When they finally found you still inside the Sutra Library, they sighed in relief.]
[After returning home, you couldn’t stop thinking about the Buddhist scriptures, pondering their deep meanings day and night.]
[Seeing you suddenly turn silent and dazed, your mother became convinced that you had been possessed by evil spirits at Jinshan Temple. Out of desperation, she sought out Daoist Master Qingfeng from Azure Cloud Temple to help exorcise you.]
[Although Qingfeng was a rather incompetent Daoist, he had received formal training and opened his Daoist eyes, allowing him to perceive the spiritual world.]
[When he saw you, his eyelids twitched violently.]
[Behind you, he saw a three-zhang-tall, golden Arhat sitting with half-closed eyes.]
[However, this Arhat was not radiant and dignified. Instead, its golden paint was faded and peeling, its left hand held a chipped purple-gold alms bowl, and its right hand formed a half-complete Immovable Wisdom King Mudra.]
[Daoist Master Qingfeng immediately realized that you were an Arhat who had shattered his golden body and entered reincarnation—born to repay the karmic debts of your past life.]
[Not wanting to entangle himself in Buddhist karma, he advised your mother to send you to a temple to become a monk for ten years so you could return to normal.]
[Hearing that you still needed to become a monk, your mother’s vision darkened, and she fainted on the spot.]
[Your father, Su Donglai, however, remained open-minded. The next day, he personally sought out Elder Fahai and offered you to the Buddhist order, believing that you could always return to secular life once your training was complete.]
[Fahai was delighted to see you again.]
[After everything, you still ended up as a disciple of the Buddhist order.]
[After taking the vows, you became Fahai’s personal disciple, stirring envy among all the monks at Jinshan Temple. In their eyes, becoming Fahai’s direct disciple meant you were destined to be the next abbot of Jinshan Temple.]
[However, you felt no joy from this. Since immersing yourself in Buddhist scriptures, your personality drastically changed—you became more detached and indifferent, losing all traces of your once mischievous nature.]
[Fahai grew increasingly pleased with your transformation and began teaching you Buddhist exorcism techniques.]
[You mastered Lion’s Roar, Diamond Body Protection Technique, and Great Might Heavenly Dragon Seal.]
[Time passed.]
[By the time you turned eighteen, your comprehension of Buddhism far surpassed many elder monks who had cultivated for decades.]
[Your mastery of Buddhist martial arts had reached perfection, making you an unparalleled exorcist of demons and monsters.]
[One day, your parents arrived to bring you home and return you to secular life.]
…
[At this moment, you choose?]
[Option 1]: Reject your parents’ request and remain at Jinshan Temple, dedicating your life to Buddhism and becoming a high-ranking monk of great virtue.
[Option 2]: Follow your parents down the mountain, grow out your hair, return to secular life, study Confucian classics, and take the imperial examination to pursue a government career.
[Option 3]: Kill Fahai, poison all 209 monks in Jinshan Temple, and fall into the path of demons.
…
Looking at the three options in “Fateful Life,” Su Mo didn’t even hesitate—he immediately chose the third one.
After more than ten years of reading Buddhist scriptures, he had nearly fallen asleep from boredom.
The third option was undeniably the most exciting.
…
[You chose to kill Fahai and poison all 209 monks of Jinshan Temple.]
[You rejected your parents’ invitation to return home and chose to remain at Jinshan Temple. Fahai was delighted, but the monks were not.]
[After your parents left, Fahai wished to pass down his teachings to you. He intended to have you inherit his mantle, go down the mountain to exorcise demons, and uphold righteousness in the world.]
In the simulation, Fahai stood solemnly in plain monk robes, offering you his sacred artifacts with utmost sincerity.
Seeing this, Su Mo became intrigued.
Fahai might not be an evil monk, but since he had already chosen this path, he was eager to see what would happen next.
This time, he was playing the chaotic evil role.
Next time, he might try a lawful good playthrough just for variety.
That way, things wouldn’t get boring.
…
[You accepted the sacred artifacts without hesitation—because without them, Fahai would be easier to kill.]
[You obtained Jinshan Temple’s sacred treasure: “Golden Alms Bowl.”]
**[Golden Alms Bowl]: A holy artifact once bestowed upon Fahai by the Buddha himself, used to exorcise demons and foresee past and future events. The golden light within it can reveal, restrain, and seal all monsters.]
…
Upon seeing the Golden Alms Bowl’s ability to predict the future, Su Mo broke into a cold sweat.
Damn.
If Fahai could foresee the future, then wouldn’t he already know that Su Mo was planning to kill him and poison the entire monastery?
Then why would he still pass down his legacy?
Could it be…
Fahai had a backup plan?!
He let his guard down.
Next time, he would need to think things through more carefully.
Otherwise, he’d have to restart from scratch.
He had finally gotten into The Legend of the White Snake plotline—there was no way he was wasting this opportunity!
Because of how realistic the simulation felt, Su Mo felt completely immersed.
Now, he was genuinely nervous—what was Fahai planning to do next?
…
[You obtained Jinshan Temple’s second sacred treasure: “Holy Robe Kasaya.”]
**[Holy Robe Kasaya]: A divine robe impervious to blades, fire, and water. It can be transformed into various shapes using spiritual power.]
…
[With these two treasures in hand, you were only one step away from inheriting the third and final treasure—the Azure Dragon Zen Staff, a millennium-old vajra iron weapon that could sense demonic auras within a hundred miles. It was also a symbol of Jinshan Temple’s abbot.]
[Since you had not yet become the abbot, Fahai did not bestow it upon you.]
[That very night, you gathered a large amount of Heartbreak Grass from the nearby mountains, preparing to poison everyone’s morning porridge.]
[However, when you returned, Fahai was already waiting for you.]
[He did not understand—how could the reincarnation of an Arhat possess such a cruel and twisted heart?]
[When the Golden Alms Bowl revealed your future actions, he refused to believe it. But now, with irrefutable evidence, he had no choice but to face the truth.]
[You panicked and tried to escape, but Fahai did not give you the chance.]
[He immediately seized the Golden Alms Bowl and the Holy Robe Kasaya, then used the alms bowl to seal you beneath a mountain, imprisoning you for eternity!]
[You struggled desperately, but the alms bowl’s divine power was too strong—there was no way to break free.]
“Tsk tsk.”
Seeing this outcome, Su Mo realized he had played too recklessly.
Being sealed under a mountain by Buddha’s alms bowl…
Who knew how long it would take to get out?!