The last wisp of black mist dispersed, and everything before her eyes became clear.

This was a dharma hall with somber colors, not very spacious, with a small arc shape all around. The walls were painted with colorful murals of the Five Realms of Life and Death Wheel – this should be the top of the Five-Ring Pagoda.

Did this count as… passing the final trial of the Five-Ring Pagoda?

But why was there no reward?

The sound of “creak, creak” reached her ears. Zanxing raised her eyes to look ahead and saw that directly facing her, there sat skeletal remains clothed in brown kasaya robes.

These bones should have belonged to a Buddhist cultivator in life, sitting on the stone platform before her. Golden honeysuckle bloomed all around the stone platform. The honeysuckle somehow maintained its vitality, blooming particularly fresh and brilliant, as if it had been this way for a hundred years. The Buddhist cultivator’s posture was gentle and natural, with both arms naturally resting on his knees. In his palms lay a small spinning wheel.

This spinning wheel was half golden and half black, rotating unhurriedly in his hands. That teeth-aching “creak, creak” sound was coming from within this spinning wheel.

Was this Master Jingshan’s dharma body? Zanxing wondered in her heart. And what was that spinning wheel? It was still rotating – did this mean the reincarnation within this white pagoda hadn’t ended?

Just as Zanxing thought of this, she suddenly heard a muffled grunt beside her ear. She turned to look and saw someone appear from the void, planting a silver spear on the ground to steady himself.

“Gu Baiying?” She was stunned.

Gu Baiying also saw Zanxing, a trace of surprise flashing in his eyes. He steadied himself and stared at Zanxing, saying, “How are you here?”

“I came out from the trials of the Five-Ring Pagoda.” Zanxing’s heart stirred: “You also experienced Master Jingshan’s lifetime?”

“Naturally.” Gu Baiying’s gaze fell on the Buddhist cultivator’s skeletal remains before them, his expression darkening slightly: “He was quite pitiful.”

“So…” Zanxing looked at him: “When the ten thousand people begged the master to put down his weapon, you didn’t put it down?”

“Why should I put it down?” Gu Baiying raised an eyebrow, his tone unceremonious: “I’d kill that bastard first, then his mansion’s grain would naturally be mine, and I’d provide disaster relief – wouldn’t that make everyone happy?” The young man sneered: “Why should I wrong myself?”

Zanxing thought to herself that this was indeed Gu Baiying’s temperament. He certainly wasn’t the type to do wrong for others’ sake. However, that they both thought the same way, she wondered if this counted as having a meeting of minds.

“Hey,” he glanced at Zanxing and asked with unclear meaning: “How did you get out?”

Zanxing thought for a moment before speaking: “Immortal Gu seems to have forgotten that I’m from the demon clan. Demon clan members are all ruthless killers. I’m a demon – why would I want to become Buddha?”

The woman’s tone was very frank.

Her eyes were gentle and peaceful, her dark hair faintly flowing with dark azure luster, making one think of vines in an abyss, climbing up along omnipresent cracks, twining around people’s bodies in a tight embrace, finally reflecting in people’s eyes.

He was momentarily dazed.

The next instant, Zanxing’s voice rang out: “You’re injured?”

At Gu Baiying’s waist, blood was slowly seeping through his snow-white brocade robe, the bright red dyeing the fabric vividly, which looked alarming to others.

He came back to his senses and glanced carelessly at the wound: “Just a small injury, won’t kill me.” His tone still didn’t take it to heart.

Zanxing said nothing, thinking that after Gu Baiying experienced Master Jingshan’s lifetime, he must have also faced his heart demon. The heart demons in the Buddha pagoda had the same cultivation and techniques as the cultivators themselves – breaking through the demonic obstacles wasn’t easy.

However, he was now lively and spirited, so there shouldn’t be any major problems. As for Meng Ying and the others… Zanxing said in a low voice: “I wonder how the others are doing now…”

Just as her words fell, there was a “thud” sound as someone fell from the void. She quickly turned around and saw the heavily wounded Ming Jing suddenly appear in the hall.

Compared to Zanxing and Gu Baiying, he looked much more miserable. His gray monk robes hardly had a clean spot anywhere, all soaked through with blood and still continuously seeping blood. His complexion also looked very pale, as if he’d lost half his life in the trials.

Zanxing hurried over to help him up, asking: “Master Ming Jing, how did you get such severe injuries?”

Ming Jing looked at Zanxing, and seeing that Zanxing was safe and sound, he finally breathed a light sigh of relief, saying: “It’s good that Little Highness is unharmed.”

His relieved gaze that contained paternal love immediately gave Zanxing goosebumps, thinking that Ming Jing wouldn’t consider him her stepfather, would he? This was, after all, Bujiang’s private matter. Zanxing herself had no objections, but constantly being stared at with a daughter-watching gaze by a young person who looked the same age was always somewhat awkward.

Just as she was thinking this, Gu Baiying’s impatient voice reached her ears: “Buddhist cultivator, what exactly is going on in this pagoda? Shouldn’t you explain?”

Neither he nor Zanxing cultivated the Buddhist path, so naturally, only Ming Jing here knew most clearly about Master Jingshan’s affairs.

Ming Jing seemed to have long expected Gu Baiying would ask this. He lowered his eyes, and after a while, said in a low voice: “When one’s nature is deluded, that is a sentient being; when one’s nature is awakened, that is Buddha. The master ancestor did not resolve his obsessive confusion and did not take refuge in the true Buddha. Delusory thoughts covered his true nature, preventing clarity. He set this riddle in the pagoda tomb, respectfully awaiting those who come to resolve the confusion.”

This was about the same as what Zanxing had thought.

“Then what about the heart demon we encountered later?” Zanxing asked: “Master Jingshan’s heart demon – was it that he couldn’t become Buddha?”

Ming Jing nodded, tacitly agreeing with Zanxing’s guess.

Zanxing fell silent. Jingshan had been a good person his entire life, but after death became a monster that was neither Buddha nor demon, his obsession trapped in the white pagoda for a hundred years without liberation – it was truly tragic.

“What about you?” Gu Baiying raised his chin toward Ming Jing. “As a Buddhist cultivator with no delusory thoughts, you suffered such severe injuries. What, couldn’t you break through your heart demon?” His gaze was somewhat provocative: “What was your heart demon? To torment a monk like this.”

Ming Jing was startled, his expression becoming somewhat uncomfortable.

Zanxing: “……”

This Buddhist cultivator was obsessed with being her stepfather, unable to forget his old feelings for Bujiang – Ming Jing’s heart demon was undoubtedly related to “emotion.” Seeing the embarrassed expression on Ming Jing’s face growing thicker, Zanxing had to step out to smooth things over, changing the subject: “Since the heart demon matter is over, that means we’ve passed Master Jingshan’s trial, but why is there no reward? Also,” she moved aside to let Ming Jing see the Buddhist cultivator’s skeletal remains clearly: “These bones are the dharma body left by Master Jingshan, right? What is that spinning wheel? Why is it still rotating?”

The small spinning wheel slowly rotated in the monk’s white bone palm, half golden and half deep black, making “creak, creak” sounds, one after another, particularly clear in the hall.

Ming Jing’s expression suddenly changed drastically.

He murmured: “Two-Life Buddha Wheel?”