At this point, he suddenly clapped his hands together, his face blooming with joy, as radiant as a spring breeze: “But it doesn’t matter! There’s always the next life, isn’t there? And the life after that, right? Even in the worst case, there’s still the life after that!”

"Being a dog in this life and suffering some physical pain means you can be reborn into a wealthy family in the next life, living in luxury—isn't that wonderful? Isn't that wonderful!"

After finishing, he laughed heartily again, as if this were truly a joyous occasion worth celebrating.

The poor little white dog that he had █ was already gasping for breath, looking as if it were truly about to go and be reincarnated.

Qi Xing had no interest in saving it, but he looked at the other four small animals and asked, "What about them? Is it also a case of karma manifesting the moment a murderous thought arises?"

"Indeed, indeed!"

The burly monk nodded vigorously, his smile as radiant as a gentle spring breeze.

This time, Qi Xing was truly amused by his demeanor and couldn't help but sneer: "You bald donkey,"

"You do whatever you want, and no matter what you do to others, you can just call it their karmic retribution? How very convenient!"

"Indeed! Indeed!"

The burly monk didn't shy away at all, smiling and bowing repeatedly, as if he had received praise from [Master Leipu].

"Today's fruit is yesterday's cause; today's cause is tomorrow's fruit."

"Everything in this world is cause and effect. If someone is wealthy and prosperous, it is because they accumulated blessings in their past life; if someone is destitute and distressed, it is because they committed evil deeds."

"If someone gains a treasure, it is what they deserve; if someone loses their life, it is because they deserved to die."

"You are angry at me, hate me, want to kill me—this is creating bad karma; if I want to kill you, and it is not your fate to suffer this retribution, you will naturally turn danger into safety and find fortune in the face of demons."

"No matter what you do or what you encounter, it is all karmic retribution, all self-inflicted karma!"

At this point, the burly monk's expression appeared quite compassionate. The more righteous he sounded, the more joyful the smile on his face became.

If a person's karma—good or bad—could only be judged by what happened to them, then of course, everyone who suffered was just "experiencing their own karmic retribution,"

and all those who were trampled, insulted, slaughtered, or deprived were all deserving of death. They deserved it.

Everything is the turning of karma.

All those who suffer and are harmed are at fault themselves; they must have done something bad elsewhere and accumulated other evil karma.

No matter how you struggle, cry for help, or scream, even if you are skinned, deboned, or ground to dust—as long as you become a victim, it means: "This is your own karmic retribution!"

So that's how it is. How convenient, this logic is far too convenient.

For a moment, Qi Xing couldn't help but laugh.

"Then, bald donkey, if someone beats you to death, is that also your own self-inflicted karma?"

After laughing, Qi Xing asked curiously.

"Indeed, indeed."

The burly monk nodded, still smiling broadly,

"However, I, this monk, have lived my whole life without illness or disaster, without suffering, without obstacles, doing whatever I please."

"Even through mountains of blades and seas of fire, with ten thousand demons attacking, having fought a hundred battles, I still live well, safe and at ease… With such deep blessings and perfect merit, who would come to beat this humble monk to death?"

"Is it the gods and Buddhas? Hah, the gods and Buddhas also say I am right."

"Is it the laws of heaven? Heh, those who the laws of heaven cannot tolerate must be those whom I have beaten to death, right?"

He laughed loudly, patting the solid muscles on his belly.

"Who exactly could possibly beat this humble monk to death?"

Sasa, who was perched on Qi Xing's head, raised an eyebrow and commented: "As expected of [Greed Demon]'s senior brother. This [Demon of Anger]'s level is indeed higher than his junior brother's."

Shut up, you medium-cup evil god.

"I don't care about your laws of heaven or gods and Buddhas."

Qi Xing narrowed his eyes, "It's me. I'm going to beat you to death."

"Alright!" The monk clapped his hands and laughed, "Come on then?"

The moment the laughter ceased, the air seemed to freeze, and killing intent suddenly exploded.

He came as soon as he said he would!

Before the words had even faded, Qi Xing's [Thunder Fist] had already struck out, blasting the burly monk backward like a cannonball!

However, his laughter had not yet ceased; the burly monk spun and somersaulted in the air, landing steadily on the ground. Qi Xing pursued closely, his second [Thunder Fist] slamming toward the monk's brow. The monk raised his hand to block, the sound like a thunderclap!

Two massive forces clashed in mid-air, the shockwave sweeping through the entire street like a tidal wave, instantly shattering the ground and sending dust and sand flying!

At that moment, the burly monk's breathing seemed to crush and recast the air itself.

True energy that shook the earth surged within him, as if he had swallowed the world itself and spat it back out.

In the span of a single breath, both sides engaged in high-speed attacks and defenses, constructing a small universe that was completely invisible to the naked eye of a mortal!

If an ordinary person were just passing by, they would likely suffer cardiac arrest and die of terror right now!

Not to mention the few small animals that had been turned from humans and were caught in the middle. Except for the little white dog that could no longer move, the other four little beasts screamed and scattered in all directions, darting into the darkness.

…As for the other [Silver Coin Messenger], that dowdy woman wearing glasses, she moved slowly at this moment, shifting a bit further away, seemingly having no intention of intervening.

"I don't mind if you all come at me together," Qi Xing said calmly amidst the intense, supersonic exchange of blows.

"No need to trouble yourself, Master," the monk replied with a smile, "If this humble monk is defeated, Senior Sister will naturally take action."

So it really is a Senior Sister?

Qi Xing frowned and stopped talking, slamming another punch into the monk's face.

Fists and palms exchanged, an ultra-short-range fight akin to mini wooden dummy boxing. With every exchange, it was actually possible to see that the damage the monk sustained was steadily accumulating. The gap in their martial arts prowess was slowly beginning to show.

However, considering there was another demon king watching from the sidelines, even Qi Xing couldn't help but feel some pressure.

Both sides clearly had yet to bring out their true abilities. Should they continue like this, fighting slowly for now?

…Or should he adopt a strategy of a short-term decisive battle and have his side unleash their ultimate move first?

Volume 6: Thunder █ Hero · Lunar Expedition: 224: The Lineage of Papiyas

Any demon king is not to be underestimated.

Both sides had yet to use their full strength, nor had they revealed their true demon king forms, but the mere exchange of solid, flesh-to-flesh blows between Qi Xing and the [Demon of Anger] had already shaken the land of Oxford,

causing the entire district to tremble incessantly, floor tiles to crack, and air waves to surge, chilling to the bone.

The [Demon of Anger] was a burly monk. Every move and stance, every punch and palm strike, in every gesture, carried immense true energy that shook the earth. Like an erupting volcano, as if he had swallowed the world itself and spat it back out, the torrent of true energy surged within the [Demon of Anger] like a dragon of fire.

——What kind of [silver coin] was this, exactly? What kind of mythical power was it?

Qi Xing flipped the Silver Coin of [Illusion], countering with an endless ocean. Merging the virtual and the real, deep, bottomless waves unfolded beneath his feet, and in an instant, the previously empty streets had transformed into a boiling sea.

What a volcano erupting in the sea of illusion!

The water flow was formless, yet heavier than ten thousand jun. Qi Xing turned his palms into waves, and a thousand layers of billows crashed over, as if to completely swallow the monk, who was as heavy as a mountain.

Looking again, the five small animals had, at some unknown point, been washed away by the seawater Qi Xing had conjured, carried out of this battlefield.

"Good!"

The [Demon of Anger] laughed loudly and walked across the water toward Qi Xing. He did not fear the waves; instead, he treated the monstrous sea as a ring, walking upon the waves and striking punch after punch!

Every time the sea beneath Qi Xing's feet was blasted through, it would surge back and regenerate. It seemed like the most resilient barrier in heaven and earth, constantly dissolving the monk's destructive power. The Silver Coin of [Illusion] helped him channel the Taoist boxing principles of softness containing hardness, using non-action to control action. The hardest things in the world could not overcome it.

However, the [Demon of Anger]'s momentum also seemed endless—the more he fought, the madder he became, the more intense he grew!

"[Master Leipu]! You are so good at Tai Chi!"

The [Demon of Anger] laughed heartily and stomped his foot violently on the ground—no sooner said than done! The street, submerged by the sea of illusion, suddenly rose, resembling a dragon's spine churning.

The earth was as hot as molten lava, forcibly splitting the tidal waves right down the middle!

"Samjiva (Reviving)!"

The burly monk chanted Sanskrit mantras loudly. Beneath the earth, flames churned and magma surged! The entire sea of illusion was burned until it boiled, the water waves churning into steam waves, unable to close again!

What kind of divine technique was this?

However, although the sea of illusion had been burned open, Qi Xing's expression remained normal. He continued to channel the divine power of [Illusion]—suddenly, thousands of water surface reflections intersected and overlapped, like flowers in a mirror and the moon in the water. In the blink of an eye, the entire city seemed to have become a maze inside a kaleidoscope.

Ripples of light, overlapping illusions, the virtual and the real indistinguishable, the true and the false hard to discern.

Every drop of water was a door, every ripple was a world.

By the time the [Demon of Anger] was stunned and reacted, there were already countless Qi Xings and countless oceans all around. Waves surged up and down, as if in a thousand-fold dream.

"Kalasutra (Black Rope)!"

Forming hand seals, the [Demon of Anger] roared deeply, spitting out more mantras. In an instant, more flames ignited in the void, and land rose from the sea with even more heat.

"Sanghata (Gathering)! Raurava (Screaming)! Maharaurava (Great Screaming)!"

The hand seals changed again, the scorching earth beneath his feet swelled, the ground layered upon layers, and burning rocky hills grew out of the sea of illusion. Flames shot into the sky, and the air turned into a crimson vortex.

The molten lava and boiling sea were like the manifestation of the various sufferings of hell; the volcanic eruption shattered all the surrounding illusions!

However, behind the shattered illusions were more shattered illusions.

Illusions hidden within illusions, the virtual giving birth to the virtual, a thousand images collapsing ahead, and ten thousand images arriving behind.

This was a mirage, this was a thousand dreams without end.

In an instant, the [Demon of Anger] was enveloped within the endless sea of illusion, almost completely swallowed!

[Not bad, your usage has improved a bit.]

Perched on Qi Xing's head, Sasa evaluated with some surprise, [Is it because you recently obtained the silver coin of [Truth] that you have gained a little more understanding of [Illusion]?]

"I suppose so," Qi Xing answered calmly, "It's a pity I can't draw Vishnu from the silver coin."

[Of course you can't draw Vishnu. Silly boy, your personality doesn't suit Vishnu.]

Sasa disagreed, [You are not the maintainer of cosmic order. If anything, isn't it the exact opposite?]

That's right.

It's a pity that Qi Xing's mythical form does not contain Vishnu. Otherwise, everyone would surely be able to witness the true power of that Silver Coin of [Illusion]—continuously reconstructing the world and weaving a myriad of changes!

It's a pity that Qi Xing cannot draw Vishnu. Otherwise, this single [Illusion] coin alone would likely be enough to force the [Demon of Anger] into a desperate situation.

Now, although he is fighting quite beautifully, he has only temporarily suppressed the burly monk. Both sides know well that the [Demon of Anger] is far from defeated.

This is merely the beginning of the confrontation.

"Tapana (Heating)! Mahatapana (Great Heating)! —"

Inside the endless sea of illusion, one could still hear the burly monk's chanting of secret mantras, like a volcanic eruption, like churning magma.

"—Avici (Avici)!"

With a roar, the entire floor of the sea of illusion suddenly swelled!

A vortex of raging flames rose from the abyss, breaking through the layers of the illusory sea like a pillar of heaven, roaring as it tore through the falsehoods!