The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

Fangzheng nodded. “Do I still have a choice? Accept.”

The next moment, there was a blob of yellow light in front of Fangzheng. Fangzheng reached in and grabbed a long object. The yellow light dissipated and there was a…

“Fire pit poker stick!?” Fangzheng looked at the black pole in his hand. His eyes nearly popped out as he yelled, “System, what’s this? Did you give me the wrong thing? I want a refund!”

However, no matter how Fangzheng shouted, the System vanished without a trace.

Fangzheng really wished to curse, but he was afraid of being struck by lightning. All he could do was endure it.

Fangzheng looked at the black and unattractive stick in his hand. Apart from connecting it to a fire pit poker stick, he could not think of anything else.

“Sigh, I’ve been tricked again.” With that said, Fangzheng threw the stick behind.

The moment he threw it out, Fangzheng suddenly recalled the System’s warning. It could not touch the ground!

With a loud shout, he lunged for it, but it was too late!

The fire pit poker stick had hit the ground!

“Sh!” Fangzheng was just about to curse when he saw the area where the fire pit poker stick landed crack like glass. The cracks filled the entire world like a broken mirror. The next moment, it exploded with a boom!

The entire world shattered into darkness!

Fangzheng could not see anything!

There was no sound, no anger in the void—only dead silence.

For the first time, Fangzheng felt a little afraid. He wasn’t afraid of the dark. What he was afraid of was…

“System Bro, are you there? What’s happening? Where’s my One Finger Monastery? Where’s Jingxin and the rest? What’s going on?” Fangzheng hurriedly shouted. Unfortunately, the System did not react at all as though it had shattered along with the mirror.

At that moment, Fangzheng vaguely saw three beams of light. They were in three different directions. The angles of the three light beams were almost the same. After circling around the spot, Fangzheng had no idea which one was. As for what the light was, he had no idea.

Fangzheng thought for a moment before sighing. “Amitabha. Everything is up to fate.”

With that said, Fangzheng spun three times on the spot. Finally, when he stopped, he walked in the direction of the light.

Fangzheng lost count of how long he walked. When he arrived in front of the light, he was surprised to discover a door in front of him!

When Fangzheng reached the door, he saw a blurry pattern. He couldn’t see what it was. He subconsciously extended his hand to touch it, but the moment his hand touched the door, the door creaked open.

There was a white light outside the door, and nothing could be seen clearly.

Fangzheng vaguely heard some voices; yet, it seemed like there was no sound.

But ultimately, Fangzheng could not control his curiosity. He gritted his teeth and walked out.

The moment he rushed out, the white light dissipated. Fangzheng finally saw the surrounding scenery clearly. It was a…

Void!

Everything around him was white and there was nothing!

Apart from Fangzheng, there was nothing else!

Fangzheng was completely dumbfounded. What was going on?

He turned around to look at the door. It was still there, and there was no change.

Fangzheng walked back again when he heard the door closed with a bang!

Fangzheng was given a fright as he hurriedly checked the situation. He was surprised to discover that the formerly blurry pattern on the door could now be seen clearly!

It was a Buddha!

A Buddha with a huge belly.

The large-bellied Maitreya Buddha was a symbol of joy in many people’s eyes. It was a representation of good. No matter what happened, he was a Buddha who could enjoy the beauty in it.

However, Fangzheng knew very well that Maitreya wasn’t an ordinary Buddha, but a future Buddha!

A Buddha that lived in the future!

“The Three Lives Zen Staff—the past, present, and future. This door is Maitreya Buddha. Could it be that behind the door is the future? Then what about the other two doors?” With this in mind, Fangzheng immediately turned around to see what the other two doors looked like.

However, the darkness in front of him suddenly lit up. When he got used to the light, he realized that he had returned to the meditation room!

There was something cold in his hand that looked down. It was none other than the Three Lives Zen Staff!

Fangzheng was taken aback. “This… Future Buddha, the future door. Behind the door was nothingness. What’s going on? System, are you there?”

“Yes.” The System finally responded.

Fangzheng immediately heaved a sigh of relief when he heard that. He asked, “What was up with that experience of mine? Is the door I saw the future door? Is it the future behind the door?”

The System said, “Sorry, I didn’t see anything you just saw.”

“What!?” Fangzheng jumped in fright. In Fangzheng’s eyes, the System was omnipotent. It was everywhere and was one with him!

The System should know where Fangzheng had been, but now…

The System said, “Your situation just now was very subtle. There seemed to be a connection between us yet none. It was so close, yet so far. I couldn’t sense anything you saw or sensed at all. Perhaps, you can reenact what you saw in your mind and let me see it.”

Fangzheng hurriedly nodded and recalled everything he had just experienced.

After the reenactment, Fangzheng asked, “What is it?”

The system fell silent.

Fangzheng was getting more anxious. However, he knew that it was useless to be anxious now. All he could do was wait quietly.

After a while, the System said, “Back when the world was created, there was a lotus flower in the Chaos. It was later split by the Three Pure Ones, leaving behind a withered branch. That’s the Three Lives Zen Staff in your hand. Buddha took the Three Lives Zen Staff away, but no one used it. As for how it’s used… no one knows. What you saw might be the future. A future with nothing left. Perhaps this world would be destroyed.

“I’ve been to millions of worlds and countless small worlds. Life and death is but a mere thought, so you don’t have to be surprised.”

“Not surprised? My world is about to be destroyed; yet, you tell me not to be surprised?” Fangzheng yelled.

“It’s useless to be surprised,” said the System.

Fangzheng asked indignantly, “You can’t do anything?”

The System said, “Me? I don’t belong to this world. What can I do? Besides, you don’t even know how the world is destroyed. How can I help you? In the end, you don’t have enough merit to pay to save the world. So, work hard, young man.”

Fangzheng clenched his teeth in anger when he heard that. However, he knew that the System was indeed not obligated to help him save the world, but he couldn’t accept it!

“Is there no way to know how the world is destroyed?” Fangzheng asked. “Or could you guess the reason behind the destruction of the world? There shouldn’t be countless reasons for the destruction of the world, right? Let’s eliminate them. Perhaps we can guess it.”

The System said, “You are overthinking things. How big do you think the world is? In an ant’s world, a piece of paper is the world. Just burning it would destroy their world.”