I searched for corpses in the Wuding River to extract entries

Xie Que slowly took a few steps back, his voice echoing in the empty space:
"If this fire eventually dies down, will you be free?"

The silence was as deep and long as the night, and even the air seemed to be frozen.

After a moment of silence, the shadow monk finally spoke, his voice was thin as a thread, but every word was clear, revealing an indescribable weakness:

"That's right... When the flames die out, my broken body will return to dust and my soul will rest in peace."

"Nirvana? Is this what you call liberation?"

Xie Que frowned slightly, with doubt flashing in his eyes.

The monk nodded slightly, with an indescribable sadness in his voice:
"I have been wandering in this endless darkness for too many years to count."

"For me, nirvana is the release from my miserable life."

Xie Que unconsciously raised his hand, and his fingertips gently brushed across his lips.

All his feelings were definitely not as simple as what the monk said.

Xie Que thought for a while and asked, "Are you in pain?"

The monk nodded slowly, his invisible eyes seemed to penetrate the shadows and stare directly at Xie Que:

"After we become shadows, we are no longer complete beings. We have lost our five senses and all our desires."

"In this endless nothingness, every extra day of survival is a cruel torture to one's will and soul."

"Since you are in so much pain, can't you commit suicide?" Xie Que was a little confused.

The shadow monk shook his head: "The followers of **** are no longer in the past. We have no present and no future. Only pain will last forever."

Xie Que opened his mouth again, questioning, "The Buddha of the past has already achieved transcendence, why haven't you forgotten it?"

"It seems that the Buddhas of the past, no matter how long they lived, don't remember him."

The shadow monk's voice was low and distant, and he slowly said: "In fact, it is because the Buddha in the past led us to transcendence together."

As soon as these words came out, Xie Que's heart trembled violently, as if he was hit by an invisible force, and his thoughts were in a mess.

"Transcend together...what does this mean?" Xie Que was secretly surprised and puzzled.

After transcendence, does it mean falling into endless darkness and becoming a shadow like the monk in front of me?

Without the drive of desire and the experience of the five senses, is there only endless emptiness and pain?

What is the meaning of such transcendence?

Is this the ultimate pursuit of life or a desperate joke?

Seeing that Xie Que was lost in thought and remained silent for a long time, the shadow monk did not urge him, but just waited quietly by his side.

The rosary in his hand began to turn slowly, and he murmured some unknown scripture.

Xie Que's eyes were fixed on the bonfire, as if the faint flames concealed endless secrets, inspiring endless reverie.

The flames flickered, dyeing everything around with a warm orange-yellow color.

Under the light of the bonfire, Xie Que's shadow was clearly projected onto the wall.

However, in this quiet moment, Xie Que's expression suddenly became dazed.

Gradually, he fell into deep thought, his eyes were empty, as if his soul had left his body.

Suddenly, the Dragon Snake Ring World Sutra in Xie Que's body started to operate quietly without him noticing.

As the shining cosmic light surged, the huge head of the Candle Dragon slowly emerged behind Xie Que.
Those deep dragon eyes flickered with a faint light, as if they could see through everything in the world.

Under the gaze of the Candle Dragon's eyes, a wisp of black mist was suddenly drawn out of Xie Que's soul and disappeared without a trace in an instant.

At the same time, Xie Que suddenly woke up from his trance, as if he had returned to reality from a long dream.

"what on earth is it?"

An indescribable fear surged in Xie Que's heart. His forehead was covered with fine beads of sweat and his face was as pale as paper.

He clearly remembered that he was just staring at the bonfire quietly without taking any action, but why did he fall into such a strange state?
At this moment, Xie Que's heart was filled with doubts and uneasiness.
He realized that this seemingly ordinary campfire,

Perhaps there are secrets hidden far beyond his imagination.

He calmed down for a moment, but his heart felt as cold as ice and was filled with waves of fear.

In the split second just now, he clearly felt that the vitality and spirit in his body had inexplicably weakened a little.

It was as if an invisible force was secretly stealing his vitality.

He caught a glimpse of the shadow cast by the bonfire on the wall out of the corner of his eye.
The shadow made completely different movements from him, as if another independent life was moving.

I saw that the shadow was wriggling in a strange way, as if chewing something.
That posture, that movement, was completely different from who he was.

Xie Que instantly thought of the vitality and spiritual power he had lost.

When the shadow noticed Xie Que's gaze, it turned around strangely and its eyes met Xie Que's for a moment in the air.

Although those eyes were just an illusion of shadow, they seemed to contain something indescribable that made Xie Que's heart suddenly tighten.

When Xie Que turned around to face the shadow, everything returned to normal.

The shadow once again began to move in sync with his own movements, as if the terrifying scene just now was just an illusion.

It is a fragment of a dream, an illusion created by the brain.

But Xie Que knew that with his own strength and power, it was impossible for him to have any hallucinations.

"What the hell?"

This sudden change made him pay more attention to this seemingly ordinary bonfire.

He also felt deep fear and doubt about his own shadow, which did not seem to be completely under his control.

Xie Que involuntarily stretched out his hand and grabbed the strange shadow.
And that shadow was like a mirror, perfectly replicating his every move.
Without the slightest deviation or hesitation, every subtle movement of his was displayed truthfully on the wall.

This scene was no different from the ordinary shadows he saw every day.

Xie Que quickly took a few steps back and went directly to a position close to the main hall.

As he moved, the wall that originally reflected his figure clearly gradually dimmed.
Finally, his figure completely disappeared beyond the reflection of the campfire.

Until this moment, Xie Que's originally tense heartstrings finally relaxed slowly, and the sudden heart palpitations also dissipated.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm his slightly disordered breathing.

He didn't expect that there was nothing in the main hall.

The backyard gave him such a big "surprise". The weirdness contained in it was beyond the scope of what words could describe.

You know, as the Lord of the Other Shore, Xie Que’s strength is not necessarily invincible.

It is also enough to dominate the endless void and even surpass the laws of nature in a small world.

However, in front of this strange bonfire, Xie Que felt unprecedented powerlessness.

He found that he couldn't launch any effective counterattack against the bonfire.

It was as if it was above all laws, rendering all of Xie Que's methods ineffective.

Moreover, he had no idea what secrets were hidden in the campfire.

When Xie Que once again stared at the bonfire from a distance of ten meters, he found that the flames had subsided a lot and were no longer rising and burning as wildly as before.

However, compared to when I first saw the bonfire, it seemed to have undergone a subtle change.

Although this change was very slight, with Xie Que's keen perception that had reached the level of the other shore,

But it is as distinct as day and night.

"what happened……"

Xie Que's brows were furrowed. He couldn't help but think of the little bit of blood and spirit he had lost.
Although it is only a tiny bit, I will be able to fully recover in three months.

Three months may seem long, but for the other side, whose cultivation doesn’t start from hundreds of millions of years?

Even the lost part can be restored instantly with just a ray of cosmic light.

After devouring Xie Que's insignificant power,
The light of the bonfire did inadvertently become a little brighter.

Although the change is so subtle that it is almost imperceptible.

Standing under the eaves of the back door of the main hall, Xie Que's eyes were fixed on the bonfire.

Let’s see what this bonfire is and what its connection is to the “transcendence” mentioned by the monks and the Buddhas of the past.

Just as Xie Que took a step forward and prepared to approach the bonfire, the shadow monk's voice suddenly sounded in his ears:

"If you have no intention of extinguishing this fire, perhaps you should not go on."

Upon hearing this, Xie Que couldn't help but look down at his feet, then looked around, but he did not detect the existence of the shadow monk in any shadow.

He couldn't help but feel a little confused, and asked, "Where are you? Why can't I see you from the shadow?"

"I won't put out the fire, so why can't I move forward?"

After a long silence, the shadow finally appeared just as Xie Que was about to run out of patience.

The voice was heard again, with a hint of apology and helplessness in it:

"Please forgive me, there is a huge difference in the speed of time flow between my world and the Buddhist world, so I have kept you waiting for a long time."

"Actually, I am in this bonfire..."

"This is the world after transcendence, a world that does not belong to the void and is not bound by time and space."

"If you don't want to put out the fire... then this shadow will follow you everywhere, constantly devouring your soul and vitality... until you are completely desolate."

Before he finished speaking, Xie Que realized that the vitality in his body was indeed slipping away silently.
Although it was only a tiny part, the feeling of deprivation made his heart tighten.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm his breathing which was slightly disordered due to shock.

At this moment, he deeply realized that he was facing a dilemma that was completely beyond his understanding and ability to deal with.

This bonfire, this shadow, this world beyond...

Everything seemed so strange and weird.

Although Xie Que did not sense any unusual fluctuations from the words of the shadow monk, the loss of vitality in his body was an indisputable fact.

This sudden change made him feel suspicious.
If we stay away from this place, can we get rid of this weirdness?

As soon as this thought came to mind, Xie Que did not stop.

He decisively ignored the shadow monk's subsequent words and strode out of the small temple.

Rushing towards the direction that was calling him.

However, no matter how long Xie Que walked, he could never shake off the feeling of his life slipping away.

He tried to sense everything around him, trying to find the source of the loss of vitality.
But everything seemed normal, without any abnormality.

At this moment, Xie Que even had the idea of ​​opening the river of time and leaving the Buddhist world.

He knew very well that he possessed the Death-Judging Diagram, so he had no need to be afraid even when facing death.

But when he thought that this might be his only chance to uncover the mystery of the transcendent, he hesitated again.

After all, such an opportunity is too rare for someone like him.

After careful consideration, Xie Que decided to return to the starting point.
He vowed to first completely resolve the problem of the bonfire and the shadow monk in the small temple that had troubled him for so long, and then plan subsequent actions.

He had no idea what Kasyapa Buddha was thinking when he brought him and Jerry Yang here.
But within this Buddhist world, it must have been during the million years since I disappeared.
Something unexpected happened that I didn't know about, and it turned out like this.
Xie Que also sighed: "It seems that the Buddhist world of the past has become like hell on earth..."

After returning to the small temple, Xie Que asked directly: "What the hell are these shadows and bonfires?"

Faced with Xie Que's questioning, the shadow monk did not answer immediately.

He was silent for a long time, as if he was weighing something, and finally he spoke slowly:
"Your shadow has turned into fire..."

"It will spread fire to any living being that has ever crossed paths with your shadow..."

Xie Que's brows were furrowed. He couldn't understand.
Why can a mere shadow convey such a strange power?

He confirmed with the shadow monk again: "You mean... my shadow has become the spark that transmits the flame?"

The shadow monk nodded gently: "Yes, when your power is absorbed little by little by this fire until it dries up,
You will be trapped in this fire like me, unable to escape."

Upon hearing this, Xie Que took a deep breath and understood the origin of this shadow monk.

This bonfire... is this monk... or rather, this bonfire is what was formed after the monk's power was burned out.

The monk continued, "But you don't need to be too desperate, because under the engulfment of this flame, you will also gain eternal transcendence and have endless life..."

Upon hearing this, Xie Que couldn't help but feel a strong sense of disgust. After all, what kind of "eternal transcendence" and "endless life" was this?
The monk seemed to have anticipated Xie Que's reaction. He said calmly, "If you really don't want to 'transcend', then the only way out is to put out the fire."

Xie Que took a deep breath, and after calming himself down, he asked, "How do we put out the fire?"

The monk said: "Use your body to touch it... absorb it..." (End of this chapter)