Xiuxin, upon hearing these words, exclaimed in disbelief:
"A two-year-old child? How could that possibly be?!"
After a moment of hesitation, she asked, "Was the child threatened by someone? Or perhaps... guided by another?"
Chen Kuang shook his head.
"No."
"After the incident, I naturally investigated the full story. There was no one behind it. The child spoke those words of his own volition."
"All because he had once seen me hand the herbal medicine to the villager who later fell ill. That alone."
Since he was aware that most of the monks here likely possessed the Divine Eye of Mind Perception, a Divine Ability, Chen Kuang made sure that nearly everything he said was the truth.
Thanks to his passive ability Steadfast as Stone, he could resist others' attempts to probe his inner thoughts.
But even so, there was no guarantee they wouldn't detect lies, nor did he see a need to fabricate anything.
Everything Chen Kuang said came from Huo Hengxuan's retelling of Lionheart's experiences, it was absolutely genuine and unembellished.
In fact, he had long suspected: with Lionheart's capabilities, how could mere mortals possibly have harmed him?
A cultivator who enters the mundane world may erase their memory and suppress their cultivation, but the body itself remains. Compared to regular people, it would still be vastly superior, more than enough to ensure survival.
Especially given that Lionheart cultivated the Mud-Forged Gold Body Technique.
Chen Kuang himself practiced this very cultivation technique, and he knew just how formidable it was.
Once mastered, the physical body, even without Spiritual Energy, would still be impervious to attacks from ordinary mortals.
So the only possible reason Lionheart died... was that his heart died.
He had sought to save all living beings, to validate the Dao of Goodness through them, only to be betrayed by the one who should have embodied the purest innocence and kindness in the world: a two-year-old child.
The villagers couldn't kill him.
Only he could kill himself.
At that moment, Lionheart realized that his path, the Dao he had chosen, was wrong. Utterly impassable.
True goodness did not inherently exist in all people.
Had he sought only to validate his own inner goodness, it would have been entirely possible. Lionheart undoubtedly possessed such a vast and unshakable compassionate heart.
But the problem was, he sought to validate the goodness of all sentient beings.
Before descending into the mortal world, he had grown up in the Pure Land. All he had seen were venerable monks, or True Pearl Disciples who upheld their precepts. Naturally, he believed that the world, too, held such untainted purity.
But who would have expected that in a small, humble village, a mere child could so easily shatter his Dao heart?
At man's beginning... there was neither good nor evil. Merely a primordial chaos.
And so, his Dao heart collapsed.
He willingly relinquished his cultivation and spiritual body, and died at the hands of those same ignorant villagers he had once saved.
Although Huo Hengxuan hadn't explicitly said so, Chen Kuang believed this to be the true cause of Lionheart's death.
As the thought passed through his mind, Chen Kuang suddenly felt something stir within him.
His palm began to burn slightly, yet that heat quickly transformed into a gentle, budding vitality.
Startled, he raised his hand and saw a resplendent red lotus bloom slowly in his palm!
Its petals were entirely composed of flame. That crimson hue was like blood-soaked fire, eerily beautiful and filled with a mysterious allure that made it hard to look away.
Xiuxin stood frozen beside him. Then, as if realizing something, her eyes narrowed in shock as she stared at Chen Kuang:
"Karma-Forged Red Lotus! Senior Brother Lionheart's Divine Ability!"
Several of the monks below also recognized this signature lotus of Lionheart and cried out in astonishment, pressing their palms together and bowing deeply toward Chen Kuang.
One bowed, then all followed.
Soon, the entire assembly was offering their reverence.
Chen Kuang's pupils contracted. He turned his gaze to the red lotus in his hand.
That strange and demonic lotus gently swayed its petals, as if acknowledging his gaze.
Lionheart!
In the final part of Huo Hengxuan's tale, it was said that after Lionheart died, a pond in the village bloomed overnight with red lotuses, drawing greed and bloodshed, until the whole village turned into a demonic realm.
Chen Kuang had always thought that part of the story was Huo Hengxuan's dramatic embellishment.
But now, it turned out that this red lotus... was actually Lionheart's Divine Ability!
But then... why had it now manifested in his hand?
The red lotus drooped slightly, two of its petals brushing gently together, almost as if performing a bow.
Chen Kuang could sense it, faintly. The lotus... was expressing gratitude.
He stood there in momentary wonder.
Though Lionheart had perished, perhaps, in his final moment, he truly did fulfill that ancient vow: "If I do not descend into hell, who will?" Sacrificing himself for the Dao, refusing even in death to kill another, and thereby fully embodying his own path of Goodness.
And Lionheart was himself a sentient being.
Thus, he had validated half of his Dao.
He attained sainthood, and then fell.
Once a Saint perishes entirely, they cannot reincarnate. But the Dao they return to Heaven and Earth carries a trace of their mark.
Chen Kuang, having practiced the Mud-Forged Gold Body Technique left behind by Lionheart, was now entangled in his karmic fate.
And at this very moment, Chen Kuang had brought that karmic thread back to the Pure Land, sharing Lionheart's story with all, which, in effect, was a form of preaching the Dao!
In other words, though Chen Kuang had never even met Lionheart, he had truly become the inheritor of his legacy.
Thus, the faint thread of Lionheart's Dao, lingering within the heavens, returned to him in gratitude.
By accident, Chen Kuang's assumed identity... had become real.
And within the karmic flames of the lotus, Chen Kuang could even faintly glimpse flashes of Lionheart's past memories.
Holding the Karma-Forged Red Lotus, Chen Kuang turned to the crowd of monks gathered before the main hall.
He smiled slightly:
"Reflecting on the past, myriad emotions stir in my heart. Now that I have returned to the Pure Land, I am filled with renewed joy. I only hope that in days to come, I may once more tread the path of the Great Dao, and walk beside all of you."
Chen Kuang lightly pinched the red lotus between his fingers.
In that instant, the Karma-Forged Red Lotus fully bloomed, unleashing endless seven-colored radiance. Then, with a gentle toss, he hurled it into the air, soaring high above the monks' heads.
The red petals scattered like drifting snow, floating gently down upon the monks' heads, dissolving as soon as they touched.
Those who had earlier harbored doubt now, upon seeing the radiance in those petals, instantly changed expressions. They shut their eyes and began to meditate in deep devotion.
Because that glow, was unmistakably Dao Resonance!
Chen Kuang's casual gesture... had released the Dao Resonance of a Saint!
This was the residual Dao Resonance of Lionheart, proof of the half-complete Dao of Goodness he had achieved.
Even Xiuxin, after her expression fluctuated several times, finally shut her eyes and focused on comprehending the resonance.
When the monks opened their eyes once more, they were utterly convinced, each gaze toward Chen Kuang now filled with reverence and gratitude.
Many even experienced a significant improvement in their cultivation.
One elderly monk, visibly moved, proclaimed loudly:
"We welcome the return of the Buddha-Child. A seven-day celebration throughout the Pure Land is most fitting!"
The others echoed him in unison.
Saintly Dao Resonance was not something to be shared lightly. Such selfless generosity... even the Martial Saints who erected the Stele of Transmission could only pale in comparison.
Oh, and wasn't it rumored that the very Martial Saint in question was defeated by Chen Kuang?
Reasonable!
With Senior Brother Lionheart possessing such magnanimity and spirit, if a sanctimonious Martial Saint didn't lose to him, who else could?
Though Xiuxin still harbored a sliver of doubt and unease, she had no choice but to take a step back and bow deeply:
"Senior Brother Lionheart."
Chen Kuang stepped forward and patted her shoulder, squinting with a playful smirk.
This time, he had truly "offered flowers to the Buddha with borrowed blooms."
He studied the Buddha-Child Xiuxin for a moment.
This person dared to publicly question the three demon-possessed masters, a sign of unshakable resolve. Most likely, she was a hidden threat to their control.
To raise such a challenge in public... it meant she had already long harbored doubts about those three.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
Xiuxin could be quietly drawn to his side.
After this display, the three demon-hosts would trust him even more, and he must find a way to protect Xiuxin.