Defiance of the Fall

Chapter 181: Abbot Everlasting Peace

Initially when they entered Zac could only see the side of the old monk sitting on the lotus. However, as Zac was lead around the pond to a seat facing the Abbot his brows rose in shock.

His first impression of Abbot Everlasting Peace was that he was teeming with life, but his appearance truly didn’t match. The old man sat in a classic meditating pose, but there was a huge hole in his chest right where his lungs and heart should be.

The loose robes the old monk wore covered some of the wound, but Zac could actually see the sky through the hole in the old man’s chest. The Abbot’s face was equally grisly, with huge jagged scars lining his face that made Zac’s scars seem like small beauty marks.

Furthermore, having been on the receiving end of the Corpse Lord Zac recognized the aura coming from the wounds. It was clear it was done by some undead powerhouse. The miasma was mostly cleansed in the old man, but some hints remained, and the scars were still slightly blackened.

His eyes were closed, and Zac sensed he was in the middle of cultivation as energy swirled around him like a whirlwind in slow motion. Zac’s eyes couldn’t help but turn to the flower underneath the monk, as the energies it emitted were extremely pure.

Zac even guessed the flower might be a treasure of the grade of the Fruit of Ascension, though its function likely was separate. Judging by the state of the old man he might not even be able to leave the flower, as it was continuously pouring healing energies into his body.

The old monk who led Zac to the courtyard wordlessly bowed to the Abbot and Zac before he left again, closing the doors to the courtyard behind him.

Zac was happy to wait for the old monk to wake up, as some of the spill-off from the flower actually entered himself, nourishing even better than Sui’s healing skills did. It felt as though his parched body was slowly being submerged into a pure river, with him slowly absorbing the water.

It made Zac wonder just how potent it was to sit in the center of the flower. After roughly 30 minutes the old man finally roused himself

“Ambithaba, benefactor,” the old man said as he slowly opened his eyes. “I apologize for making you see this embarrassing sight.”

“That’s okay. Uh, no offense, but how are you alive?” Zac couldn’t help asking as his eyes once again were drawn to the hole in the old man’s chest.

“Do not worry, I am not one of the yin creatures you’ve met outside,” the old man said with a kindly smile, though it was somewhat marred from the scars.

“This penniless monk was wounded in battle. I am ashamed to admit it, but I am not ready to enter the Samsara. My home has turned into a hell on earth. If I don’t stay and fight, who will? Perhaps I performed meritorious deeds in a past life, as the universe bestowed me with this treasure in my moment of need,” he said as he pointed down at the Lotus flower.

“It is prolonging this one’s life and slowly provides healing,” the Abbot said. “Unfortunately it means I am not able to leave it, and won’t be for a long while.”

“It seems quite special, sitting here is helping me out as well. I’m Zac, by the way, thank you for receiving me,” Zac simply said.

“Benefactor showed great merit when you laid one of the leaders of this Incursion to rest. Receiving you is the least this poor temple could do,” this old man said with a small smile.

“Oh? How did you know that?” Zac asked curiously.

The abbot only kept smiling as a screen opened up in front of Zac.

Life versus Death (Unique): Triumph over the six lords of undeath and the Lich King of the Undead Incursion. Reward: Infallible Sutra, unique building depending on performance. (3/7).

Zac was shocked when he saw the quest. It was very similar to his own old quest, Off With Their Heads, as it was based on killing the leaders of an incursion. That wasn’t what surprised him though, it was the fact that the progress was already at (3/7).

Zac was quite sure that Mhal was one of the three, but that still meant that two of the generals were already killed before his battle. While it might not seem like much compared to Zac killing all four of the heralds before two months were over, he knew the two couldn’t be compared.

Clan Azh’Rezak was a fledgling demonic clan that only got the opportunity to invade a new planet through dumb luck, and the resources they could put into the invasion were severely limited. Meanwhile, the Undead Empire was one of the largest forces in the multi-verse, with resources and means that Zac couldn’t even imagine.

Of course, the undead force that invaded Earth was just some insignificant branch of the empire, but still, the foundations would have to be on another level compared to Ogras’ clan. That was easily displayed by the fact that Ogras was barely as strong as just one of the lords, but likely no match against the actual Lich King. Mhal and his colleagues would likely have no trouble slaughter the beasts that were the Heralds of the demonic incursion.

“I barely survived the fight against the undead lord, I can’t believe you have managed to kill two of them,” Zac said, not hiding his awe.

“They came two months ago to destroy this mountain. An army of undead lead by two generals. With some special means and luck, we managed to prevail. However, the fight resulted in this embarrassing appearance,” the monk explained. “This mountain warded off evil and protected us in our time of need. However, my brothers tell me the undead are growing stronger. I am not sure how long it will take until they try again.”

“Perhaps the death of one more of their own might give us more time to prepare,” Abbot Everlasting Peace continued.

“Hopefully our force can be of assistance soon. Currently, they are closing up another Incursion,” Zac said, referring to the Ratmen Incursion at Billyville.

The operation should have started by now, and Zac hoped they would be successful in closing it down. It would free up another powerhouse to join the battle against the other Incursions.

“But I believe this undead Incursion must be closed as soon as possible. They can’t be allowed to keep growing for much longer,” Zac continued.

“The undead disrupt the harmony between life and death and deny poor souls Samsara. This penniless monk would be most indebted by any assistance benefactor can bring,” the Abbot said. “But I believe that is not why benefactor visited this old man?”

Zac pondered a bit on how to frame his next questions. It was generally quite rude to ask about secrets to cultivation from outsiders, as it was akin to asking them for their weaknesses. However, the situation on Earth was desperate, and Zac felt it wasn’t time to be bashful.

“I gained my strength by singlehandedly closing an incursion,” Zac said, explaining his situation to an outsider for the first time. “It has awarded me with various benefits that snowballed into a huge advantage in power over perhaps anyone on this planet. Yet I fear it’s not enough. I have no confidence in defeating the Lich King as I am, and there are many more invaders out there.”

“I am looking for any methods to get stronger, and seeing the mountain and your monks tells me I have much to learn from you. Can you tell me how your insight into the Dao is so high?”

“Did you know? This penniless monk had never left this mountain before the integration,” the old man responded with a smile. “I also never contributed much to the monastery. I believed that to understand Karma you first needed to sever Karma.”

“This monk only sat and pondered on the Sutras and what the Buddhist Dharma meant, but I realize now that was just selfishness. Only when I stepped out from my courtyard did I come to understand things that had been hazy mysteries for decades.”

“What is the point of understanding Karma if you do not create spread goodness through Karma?” the Old man asked, seemingly rhetorical.

“Dao, Faith, Insight, Truth, Enlightenment. All are names for the same thing as this one sees it. Understanding of the self and the universe. This mountain has been consecrated in the Dao for thousands of years, and it gained spirituality. The sutras are the basis for its being, therefore they have power. Our hearts give them power, therefore they are powerful,” Abbot Everlasting Peace said as he looked up at the sky, before once again focusing on Zac.

Zac wasn’t sure what to make of the old man’s explanation. He wasn’t a spiritual person before the fall and didn’t really understand some of the things these monks said.

He was sure that there was a lesson to be learned from how the old monk gained power, but at the same time, it might not apply to himself. They walked different paths, his wrought with blood and carnage. The old monk seemed to understand Zac’s confusion and only shook his head.

“Benefactor doesn’t need to become a monk and read scriptures to improve the Dao. This old man believes that finding the answers is not about following a certain procedure. It is about being true to your nature and your heart. If you try to force enlightenment it will always be out of reach, you will become an old man looking up at the clouds in despair,” he said.

“But if you follow your nature and your heart, the myriad Dao will open themselves to you.”

Zac slowly nodded, somewhat understanding what the old man was driving at. However, suddenly he had an epiphany.

“Nature…” Zac murmured with his eyes widening.

What he gained wasn’t some realization in regards to the Dao, but rather about inscriptions, though it all tied together. He realized he’d been naïve when he thought of the fractals by the Creators and the Demons as simple or flawed.

The creators were among the greatest craftsmen in the multi-verse, there was no reason they shouldn’t be able to create fractals that looked the same as the ones the System used. However, they still inscribed the squarish ones that had reminded Zac of old-school computer text.

It was the same with the Demons. Their fractals looked a bit crude in comparison to the one that adorned his robes, but after living with them for months Zac knew they weren’t some barbarians.

Why couldn’t they simply alter their scripts a bit to look like the ones from the system? The design of those fractals wasn’t anything uncommon, as they could simply buy basic gear from the General Store. Add to that the thousands of years of research they had.

Only now did Zac understand that it was a deliberate choice. The scripts the two factions used were more closely aligned with their nature. The strength of an inscription wasn’t dictated how close it looked to a “real” fractal, but by the insight and skill of the inscriber.

Zac now realized that the power of the inscriptions likely got stronger, not weaker, when the inscriptions were more suited to the nature of the Creator. For the same reason, the Sanskrit covering the mountain was close to the nature of these monks, which is why they gained power.

This was what the Abbot was trying to tell him. Zac was looking at the Dao like there was an answer sheet, and Zac hoped the Abbot had a few of the answers he didn’t possess yet. But Dao was an individual journey.

He should be looking inward to find his own nature and what Dao suited him and his path, instead of trying to find tricks or Dao fruits that would give him shortcuts or answers to questions he wasn’t even asking.

“Benefactor is still hurt from earlier. Why not keep this penniless monk company for a few days?” The Abbot suddenly said, dragging Zac out of his thoughts.

“Actually, I am in the region on a mission,” Zac said with some hesitation. “I can’t stay overly long.”

It would be nice to stay in this courtyard for a bit since he was getting better by the second. The lotus was flooding the area with vitality after all, and he was still sorely lacking in that department.

“This old man can see benefactor has strong Karmic ties to someone in the east. But it is not yet time,” the Abbot said.

“Nature does not hurry, yet all is accomplished.”