Seized by the System

In the USA, Black Robe’s Villa.

When Black Robe hurried back home, he witnessed a scene that stunned him.

He saw that the white-faced monk was preaching the Dharma Sutra to an old white servant who was responsible for cleaning the villa.

“Almsgiver, the more chaotic the world is, the more important it is to cultivate one’s mind. Only when the mind is pure, one can survive all crisis.”

Following that, a passage from the Dharma Sutra was recited.

The old white man looked dubious and although this monk was very strange, the common sense of the Mysterious Era told him that this monk was definitely not an ordinary person.

He knew what kind of place this villa was — it was a gathering place for powerhouses.

So the monk who appeared here would naturally be a powerhouse too.

Although he did not understand what the monk was saying, he still listened attentively and did not argue at the fact that he was actually a believer of the Lord of Heaven.

Moreover, despite not understanding it, the old white man felt much more relaxed after he listened to the passage. As if he was freed from certain dangers, he relished the sense of freedom that could only be felt a long time ago.

“Thank you, thank you, master.” He put his palms together, bowed and thanked him with the only Chinese phrase he knew.

Black Robe watched for a while, waiting until the old white man had left before he walked over to the monk.

“Master, how are you feeling now?” he said in a complicated tone.

The white-faced monk smiled. “I feel good. People here are much purer than the people from the Upper Realm, and they are much easier to proselytize too…”

“Er…” Black Robe was fuming after he heard that but he did not dare to show it. So, he could only endure it as he said with great patience, “Master, now all parties are rapidly developing and they all have the desire to dominate this world while you, on the other hand, spend your precious time on proselytizing people. It’s too wasteful. That stupid guy just now only asked for adequate food, warm clothing, and safety. He’s short-sighted and has low intelligence. He’s basically useless.”

“Oh, Almsgiver, you’re too fixated on the external world. Haste makes waste and proselytizing people is a cultivation itself. If you proselytized all living beings, you’ll naturally become a Buddha,” the white-faced monk said gently.

Black Robe finally understood the Monkey King’s feelings as told in the mythical story, Journey to the West. ¹ Originally, his master was brave and daring; he had a clear goal and was focused on becoming a saint. Every day, if he was not investigating science, he would be exploring cultivation or laying out the future, not wasting even a second.

Now, this monk was here proselytizing people, spending a full ten minutes reciting the sutra for an old man who would die tomorrow.

He patiently persuaded, “Master, you’ve already reached the realm of Buddha. Now, your goal is the Saint Realm. The positions of Saints in the Upper Realm are already fully occupied, but this world is newly created. It’s a rare opportunity for you to get an entitlement so you should work hard towards the path of becoming a Saint.”

“Almsgiver, you’re too obsessed with these materialistic things. You should learn to let go. The Saint or the Buddha is nothing but an illusion. Only when the heart is at ease, it’s real.” The white-faced monk shook his head.

Upon hearing that, if the person in front of him was not his master, Black Robe would have picked up the mop next to him and swung it at the monk.

It would be fine if he only looked down on the Buddha, but the Saint was a symbol of indestructibility. When the Upper Realm perished, all gods thought that they could not escape until, in the end, they discovered that the cosmic world, Earth could be sneaked over.

At the thought of it, he was certain that this had been planned as a retreat route by the Saints since early on.

Even if a great calamity affects the whole universe, it would not threaten the presence of Saints, proving their invincibility.

Yet this monk did not think greatly of the position of Saints…

If other people said that, it could be said that they were merely jealous about not being a Saint and reaping its benefits. However, he is the first person in the universe who has the opportunity of becoming a Saint!

Now, the other party looked as if he wanted to give up. If it was not for the fact that Black Robe’s loyalty was carved into his bones, he would have abandoned him.

It is no surprise that in past history, the unambitious monarchs were often betrayed by their subordinates. If there was no will to attain greater heights, who would want to follow your lead?

Black Robe said with great patience, “Master, not becoming a Saint is ultimately unfounded. All those gods may seem to be superior, but to the Saints, they’re just like chess pieces. Only by becoming a Saint can you surpass everything, attaining true freedom and relief.”

“Oh, what can Saints do? They’re still bound by the heavens and earth, and they still have to follow the path that was laid down for them. Almsgiver, you have all the Five Poisons ² — greed, hatred, delusion, arrogance, and doubt. Sooner or later, you will face calamity. I have a few Buddhist scriptures here that can resolve this issue and hopefully, Almsgiver can study it.” The white-faced monk shook his head as he pulled out two Buddhist scriptures from his sleeves.

Black Robe took them reluctantly. He then flipped the scriptures open to see that one was titled “Great Difficulty Scripture” and the other was “Great Wisdom Scripture”. They were written by his master before he became a devil.

Before his master chose to become a devil, he already reached the realm of “Buddha” so naturally, he could write Buddhist scriptures.

With his face down, he said gloomily, “Yes, master, your servant will read them with all his heart.”

“Very good. And if you have any doubt, you can always look for me to interpret it,” the white-faced monk said with great relief.

Black Robe nodded and after that, he asked cautiously, “Master, your servant still has a question.”

“Do ask.”

“How did you banish the eight devils? Why couldn’t you do that before?” Black Robe asked carefully.

If it was his former master, he would not dare to ask such a question. It was only because the current monk looked very kind that it gave him the courage to ask.

As the saying “kind master has deceitful servants”, although he was not such a vile person, his courage got bigger unconsciously.

“Oh, this matter…” The white-faced monk’s brows wrinkled slightly as if he had encountered a very difficult problem.

Black Robe suddenly became worried. He prayed that this would not trigger a problem in his master’s mentality… This monk might be slightly idiotic but at least he was still a normal person.

Fortunately, after a while, the white-faced monk recovered. He then said, “In fact, it’s very simple. I had a feeling that I had to completely sever my past and return to the nature of goodness, so I made them disappear. They’re all the epitome of evil and they are not supposed to exist in this world.”

Black Robe was speechless and hopelessly muddled. So, he sketched the other party’s words in his mind and decided to ask another person.

“Oh, master, I’ll attend to my business first. You’ve just recovered, but you still need more rest.”

Black Robe could not think of another way. He could only hope that before he comes up with a solution that his master would not roam around freely and would just stay at home.

At least it was safer here.

“Go, and be safe. This world is very dangerous and everyone is suffering…” the white-faced monk said sadly.

Black Robe then turned around and left.

…

In Vigilante A’s farm villa.

Black Robe revisited brazenly and repeated the conversation with the monk to Vigilante A in an “it’s your fault, so you should take responsibility” tone.

After listening, Fang Ning was very gratified.

“That’s great. It seems like the existence of Zhi Nan is really gone! Master Fang no longer has to worry about Zhi Nan turning him into a devil again,” he told Sir System joyfully.

“How are you so sure?” Sir System was not convinced.

“It’s very simple. Before this, he couldn’t banish other incarnations as he did to the two gods. Because according to the Origin of Time and Space, they’re the same existence and so they won’t be expelled. But now, since he has completely become another existence, he’s different from the previous devil. The Origin of Time and Space would only recognize the new him and it would naturally expel the old him,” Fang Ning explained haughtily.

“I don’t understand, what new and old, isn’t he a single person?” Sir System asked, confused.

“You’re really a stupid system. All you need to know is that the current Zhi Nan is a monk; the former Zhi Nan is a devil. The nature of their lives are completely different, so the Origin of Time and Space will not treat them as one person,” Fang Ning said eloquently.

“Your explanation sounds a little far-fetched. My intuition tells me that there are deeper reasons.” Sir System did not believe him at all.

“Why don’t you give a valid reason then?” Fang Ning said with disdain.

“Whatever, I don’t care about this stupid thing.” Sir System changed the topic after faltering for a long while. “Just think of a way to get this Black Robe out of my hair. He better not bother me all the time, I don’t have the time to fool around with him.”

“He’s a very difficult problem to solve. It seems like we could only get rid of him…” Fang Ning said darkly.

“Oh, great minds think alike.” Awoke from a sudden realization, Sir System praised, “Mr. Rich Boss, your thinking is quite divergent.”

“Well, it’s alright…” Fang Ning said proudly.