NOVPUB782: Chapter 11: A Monk at the Bottom of the Sea_2
782 -11: A Monk at the Bottom of the Sea_2
“Greetings, patron.
This humble monk’s Dharma name is Fahai.”
“…”
Tang Xian suddenly didn’t know how to spit out the old sarcasm.
This person doesn’t understand love!
The conversation between the two unfolded quite naturally; it seemed this monk wasn’t surprised at all that someone had come, or perhaps he had sensed someone’s arrival quite early on.
The monk looked at Tang Xian and said,
“There was once a Tang Wen, who, with a special talent, evaded the inspection of the little dragon above and came to this place.
Could it be that you are the same, patron?”
A little dragon?
He must be talking about Tang Feiji.
Tang Xian shook his head and said,
“When I fell into the deep sea, I heard a voice saying that I had long died, but my seven servants commanded my body.
If you can hear my voice, then you are the one I have been waiting for.
So I thought, my coming here was probably destined.
Besides, the name Fahai doesn’t sound nice, I will call you Guardian Monk instead.”
Tang Xian was for the first time revising someone’s name for the better.
The Guardian Monk didn’t care about his name; he was more curious about what Tang Xian said.
“You can hear those voices?”
“Yes.”
“How can you prove it?”
“I can’t prove it.
If it was Lord Sea God who spoke those words, why don’t you ask him to change his statement, and I’ll repeat it for you?”
The Guardian Monk frowned slightly and said,
“That can’t be done.”
“So let’s skip that step.
I mean no harm, and as for that little dragon you mentioned, it has already followed me.”
“Impossible, the Guardian Sea Dragon is bound by the Dragon Origin Blood Oath, how could it leave that room?”
“The Dragon Origin Blood Oath has been lifted by me.
Because it fulfilled the promise and waited for the one it was waiting for.”
Even when lying, Tang Xian was full of confidence, let alone telling the truth.
The Guardian Monk looked at Tang Xian for a long while and said,
“So you are the inheritor of Eden.”
“If you recognize me, master, that makes things much easier.
I just want to borrow one thing, which is said to be the inheritance of Lord Sea God.
With it, I believe I can be more confident in dealing with the judges of order.”
The Guardian Monk remained unmoved, still scrutinizing Tang Xian.
Tang Xian wasn’t in a hurry either, just quietly waiting, not the least bit flustered.
After a while, the Guardian Monk said,
“To obtain the Sea God’s inheritance, you must defeat me.”
“Am I not the designated bearer of this weapon?” Tang Xian was startled.
The Guardian Monk shook his head and said,
“Even if you were the very revival of Lord Sea God himself, you must defeat me to obtain this weapon.
This is an order, I am merely a spiritual projection of Lord Sea God, an embodiment of a craving in his heart.
I cannot defy the orders of Lord Sea God.”
Could it be that this Guardian Monk is the Guardian?
So even Tang Feiji wasn’t qualified to be the Guardian of the Sea God?
A spiritual projection, an embodiment of an inner craving.
Such mystical things actually exist?
“So, regardless of whether I am the person awaited by the Sea God, to take away the Sea God’s inheritance, I must fight you?”
“Yes.”
“And in these hundreds of years, no other beings have challenged you?”
“Tang Wen.”
“My father doesn’t count.
What about other beings?”
“Other than you and Tang Wen, no other beings have come here.”
Tang Xian nodded, accepting this answer.
“Then, if I am not the one awaited by the Sea God, and I defeat you, can I still take away the inheritance?”
“This weapon cannot be wielded by just anyone,” the Guardian Monk said with confidence in his eyes.
Tang Xian suddenly remembered, his father had mentioned on the Stele that no creature below the end-of-days level could withstand it.
So that hypothesis is not valid.
Tang Xian pondered for a moment and realized that if a fight was inevitable, then so be it; he was not yet in a position to fear a calamity-level boss creature.
But what Tang Xian was currently very curious about was exactly what the deal was with this monk-looking Guardian.
“Master, I have come all this way without any ill intent, and I have not harmed any of the sea creatures along the way.”
“I can feel that.”
“So, Master, I would like to ask a few questions before the trial begins, if I may?”
“But speak freely.” The Guardian seemed quite friendly.
If he put down that trident, he might have looked even more approachable.
“What exactly is the Sea God, a creature that I know is very huge, but can the resources of this world really sustain such a massive being?”
The question from Tang Xian took the Guardian by surprise, as he had certainly not expected Tang Xian to ask such a somewhat abrupt question.
But after a moment’s thought, he still said:
“Lord Sea God is among the six great beast gods, the one that truly approaches godhood.
Its strength can be said to be the strongest of the six, but also the weakest.
Because its advantage is also its disadvantage.”
The words were somewhat difficult to understand, yet Tang Xian understood and asked,
“Too colossal?”
“You are not wrong,” the Guardian said, “Lord Sea God is so immense that it’s simply unable to perform any battle maneuvers.
Every motion it makes can cause fundamental destruction to this world.
It is precisely because of such terrifying power that Lord Sea God has become the most special one.”
With a sigh, the Guardian continued:
“But it is also because of being so massive, possessing such terrifying power, that Lord Sea God’s range of activity is greatly self-restricted.
It fears that a careless move might cause irreversible destruction to this world.”
“This is why it began to worry about why it possessed such a vast body.
Deep down, Lord Sea God hopes to become a tiny human, to compress that terrifying power within an extremely small shell, and to move about this world as freely as any ordinary creature.”
Tang Xian suddenly thought of something and blurted out, “So you…”
“I said, I am a desire from within Lord Sea God’s heart, the form of life that Lord Sea God most yearns for.
It’s also called obsession.”
Ignoring Tang Xian’s astonishment, the Guardian continued:
“What kind of creature is Lord Sea God, what does it truly look like, these don’t matter.
Even the Milky Way, which regards Lord Sea God as a friend, has never seen its true form.
Its immense size has destined Lord Sea God’s loneliness.”
“So, does nobody know what kind of creature Lord Sea God really is?”
“Not one,” came the response.
“Has Lord Sea God really perished?
There are rumors of it having four hundred hearts.”
The Guardian nodded with a sorrowful expression:
“Lord Sea God has indeed died, and the last two hearts that could operate independently did so only to maintain the illusion that Lord Sea God was still alive.”
“As for sustenance, Lord Sea God doesn’t actually require it.
It inherently possessed endless energy and lifespan, originally an unchanging existence like this world itself.”
Tang Xian nodded; if the Sea God needed to eat, this world wouldn’t be enough to feed it for more than a few days.
Tang Xian had already sorted out his thoughts and, having asked almost everything he wanted to know, was ready to claim the inheritance of the Sea God.
“Master, since we must fight, let us begin now.”
“Are you done asking?”
“Done asking…
wait, two last questions.”
“Speak, layperson.”
“Why would the Sea God want to become a monk?”
“Lord Sea God once discoursed with the ruler of Eden on various human professions and ways of life and grew interested.
Although unwilling to admit it, among the six beast gods, Lord Sea God is the one with the least wisdom.”
“So it thought monks were the wisest?”
“Yes.”
“Hiss…
that brain really isn’t…,” Tang Xian did not finish his thought, considering that if this Guardian was a manifestation of Sea God’s obsession, then it could be considered an aspect of the Sea God itself.
It was best to give the Sea God some respect.
And indeed, he had not expected the Sea God to be so amiable.
“Last question, may I use weapons?
After all, if you use that trident against me, I, as a frail person, surely need something to defend myself, right?”
“Your words are just, the Buddha does not use power to bully others.
Use whatever weapon you need, layperson.”
“Tang, protect me.”
Tang nodded, once again softened, and then covered Tang Xian’s body like a suit of armor.
Tang Xian thought to himself, this was allowed by the permission to use weapons; even if that trident was the world’s strongest spear, in the presence of Tang as the shield, it would have to circle around.
