Chapter 24: The Zen of Murderous Intent—The Greater the Talent, the Deeper the Inner Demon (Part Two)

The next day, 10:00 AM.

In the northern suburbs of Wencheng, a conspicuous, large off-road vehicle pulled into an open space not far from the villa where Yi Beidou resided. Several figures stepped out of the car. One was Sun Hanlin, who had visited Yi Beidou previously; the other was Meng Qianyuan, a man of such immense, towering stature that he seemed to occupy half the vehicle’s cabin. The moment Meng stepped out, the tires, previously compressed by his weight, visibly sprang back.

"Mr. Meng, please follow me. That person’s residence is..." Sun Hanlin began to lead the way, but Meng Qianyuan raised a hand to stop him.

"No need. That man does not conceal his aura. The vitality and spirit of one who has attained sainthood through the flesh are like a beacon in the night. If the human world is a purgatory, then that place is a pure land; how could I be so blind as to miss it?" Meng said, his gaze calm and ripple-less, like an old monk in meditation, yet faint glimmers of light seemed to circulate within his eyes. "You wait here. I will go alone. As martial artists, there is a proper way for us to communicate—how could you possibly understand?"

Attaining sainthood through the flesh was his own pursuit. Gifted since birth, he had weighed three times as much as a typical newborn, with bone and muscle density far exceeding that of ordinary people, possessed of natural, divine strength. Some called him the reincarnation of a great conqueror or a reborn warrior legend. Later, he was taken in by an elder and dedicated himself to the path of martial arts. By the age of twenty-eight, he had reached the peak of the Soul-Snatching stage, with nowhere left to advance, standing only half a step away from sainthood of the flesh. Combined with his physical gifts, ordinary masters of his level could not last three moves against him. He was a "Half-Saint."

Yet, the closer he got to that realm, the more he understood the difficulty of breaking through, especially for someone with his innate gifts. It is said that the greater the supernatural ability, the deeper the demonic obstacles; the greater the talent, the harder it is to shatter that barrier and force the essence of the body to transform. He was deeply intrigued by someone of a similar age who had already achieved this.

"This..." Sun Hanlin hesitated, but before he could speak, Meng Qianyuan had already walked a significant distance. *Forget it,* Sun thought, *he is that master’s disciple; if something happens, someone taller will take the fall.* He shook his head.

Meanwhile, inside the villa, Yi Beidou had fed Zhou Baiwei two slices of bread for breakfast. Ignoring her cursing, he sat cross-legged in the living room, focusing his mind to reflect on the mysteries of the "lotus born in fire" he had recently gained. After a "hunt," he needed time to "digest" his prey to fully integrate what he had acquired.

Suddenly, sensing something, he opened his eyes, stood up, and walked out into the courtyard. At the gate, a tall shadow appeared, stepped into the yard, and bowed to Yi Beidou.

"My master heard that a man who has attained sainthood through the flesh has appeared in Wencheng, and has sent me to deliver an invitation for you to come and converse." Meng Qianyuan’s voice was like thunder, shaking the courtyard.

In the corner of the living room, Zhou Baiwei felt her body tremble at the commotion outside and struggled to move, desperate to see what was happening.

"Who is your master? And where is the invitation?" Yi Beidou asked calmly.

"The invitation is on me, but I must test whether you have the qualifications to receive it." As the words left his lips, Meng Qianyuan lunged at Yi Beidou.

*Boom! Boom! Boom!*

With every step he took, the sturdy tiles of the courtyard shattered; the entire ground seemed to vibrate. Despite his massive size, he moved with the speed of a cannonball, propelled by terrifying force. He coiled, lunged, extended, and rose.

*Downward strike!*

Every muscle in his body engorged and tensed. He moved like a peasant swinging a hoe into the earth. It was a deceptively simple movement, yet it contained the most profound natural principles—the unity of man and nature, the fusion of Zen and fist.

However, Meng Qianyuan had received the true teachings of the elder; his techniques were far more than simple Zen boxing. The moment he struck, a surging murderous intent erupted from him. *How does one achieve tranquility? Chanting sutras? Meditation? Cleansing the six senses? Emptiness? Wrong! All wrong! Only through killing! Kill the Buddhas, kill the ancestors, kill every stray thought, until the world is clear and bright, until the mind is unobstructed and tranquility arises naturally!*

While ordinary disciples learned the basics, he had been taught the secret "Zen of the Killing Heart."

*Boom!*

Meng Qianyuan, a head taller than Yi Beidou, struck down from above. The air buckled; it was as if the sky had collapsed. Yet, Yi Beidou did not dodge; he stood his ground, his expression unchanged. In terms of killing intent, how could Meng compare to the Free Heaven Demon that had once wreaked havoc upon the world? The demonic nature, the killing intent, and the evil barriers erupted instantly, causing Meng Qianyuan’s pupils to shrink to needle points.

Simultaneously, Yi Beidou thrust a single palm upward. His body was like a cosmic pillar, supporting the heavens and anchoring the earth. This was a technique born from his realization of the "lotus in fire" and the "green wood heart."

*Boom!*

Centered on Yi Beidou’s legs, spiderweb-like cracks spread across the ground, yet he remained completely unscathed. *Snap.* He followed up by gripping Meng Qianyuan’s wrist and jerking him backward. Meng had relied on his innate strength, but he found Yi Beidou’s grip as immovable as an iron shackle. He was gifted, but he did not realize that Yi Beidou’s demonic body was far superior to his own. In an instant, Meng lost his balance and crashed to the ground, prone.

"Is your master named Wei Cheng?" Before Meng could recover from his shock, he heard Yi Beidou’s voice. He looked up to see Yi Beidou holding the opened, gold-embossed red invitation, reading it.

Meng Qianyuan’s expression changed. He felt his pocket and realized the invitation was gone. The desire to continue the fight vanished instantly. If the man could take his invitation so easily, he could just as easily take his life. He had no choice but to concede.

"You also possess a rare gift—a demonic body, different from the rest. Your demonic obstacles are deeper than mine. How exactly did you break through to sainthood?" Meng Qianyuan panted, his eyes shining with intense light. He had assumed Yi Beidou was of ordinary constitution and that his barriers were shallow, allowing him to attain sainthood by chance before thirty. He had not expected the man to be a heaven-born demon, with a nature as deep as the sea. For an ordinary martial artist, becoming a saint is like breaking through a stone door. For him, it was like breaking through an iron door. But this man had literally chiseled his way through a giant mountain.

"Twenty years of arduous cultivation, severing the six roots, experiencing ten thousand calamities. Every second was like walking on thin ice; every breath was a life-or-death crisis. How could others possibly understand the hardship?" Yi Beidou said calmly.

Meng Qianyuan’s breath hitched. He did not doubt the words of such a being; he could not even imagine what this man had endured.

"Very well, I accept the invitation. Let’s put that aside for now. You came to visit me, yet you’ve left my courtyard in a mess. Given your desire to seek the Way, I will forgive your disrespect, but you must repair this courtyard. No one else is to do it—you will fix it yourself." Yi Beidou gestured to the ruined ground.

Meng Qianyuan’s face twitched slightly.