Months later, Chu Nian, who had thought things would remain calm, discovered that someone had broken into her tower without permission. In this world, besides the Buddha, only Lin Jingting could accomplish such a feat.

Chu Nian initially thought it was Lin Jingting, but then she realized it was the two of them!

It was the two of them... the two of them...

Chu Nian was puzzled. This Buddha seemed like a perfectly normal person, so why was he hanging out with Lin Jingting?

"You two should have knocked before coming in!" Chu Nian questioned, her gaze falling on the gleaming halo around the Buddha's neck: Does this person just walk around with that thing on his head?

Lin Jingting, however, looked at Rulai with envy, jealousy, and hatred because of her gaze.

The Buddha quickly withdrew the light.

Tathagata said frankly, "Jingting said that he was familiar with you and that you didn't need to inform him of your comings and goings, so we came."

Chu Nian looked at him and said, "Jing Ting once said that you left Ling Mountain to travel around. It turns out you went to the Demon Realm to travel around."

The Buddha said, "We who have seen through the illusions of the world should not distinguish between demons and Buddhas in our eyes."

Chu Nian nodded and said, "Yes, yes, Demon Buddha, Demon Buddha, that's what it means!"

Tathagata chuckled and said, "Little girl, you are truly amusing." His enthusiastic gaze met Lin Jingting's resentful one, and he immediately suppressed his smile.

Soon, he changed into a solemn and dignified appearance.

"They really changed their tune quickly!" Chu Nian thought to herself, then asked, "Do you want some tea?"

Lin Jingting said irritably, "I won't drink!"

The Buddha, quite intrigued, exclaimed: "Drink!"

The two spoke in unison, quite decisively, but after exchanging a glance, they both changed their tune.

Lin Jingting: "Drink!"

Buddha: "I won't drink!"

The two then looked at each other again. Lin Jingting, even more annoyed, asked, "So, are you going to drink or not?"

Buddha: "Uh, whatever you say."

Chu Nian: "Never mind, the teapot is here. Pour yourself if you want some, or you can eat sunflower seeds or peanuts if you don't want any. There are also cashews, chestnuts, and pine nuts here..."

Anyway, she has a lot of dried fruit in her spatial artifacts—there's no way she'll ever go without snacks!

It was at this moment that Chu Nian realized that Rulai had never eaten chestnuts before. She had never tasted such a common and delicious snack. Her disdainful look at Rulai finally made Lin Jingting feel a little better.

Even if Tathagata is powerful, he is still far inferior to this guy who has experienced several human civilizations! He said smugly, "Niannian, you have been in Emei for so many years, why don't you go and stay on Demon Mountain for a few days?" After saying that, he glanced at Tathagata.

Buddha turned his face away to peel and eat chestnuts.

Lin Jingting then gave him another hard look.

The Buddha twisted his entire body to the other side, and with a snap, bit open the shell of a large almond, eating it with great relish.

Lin Jingting's face darkened.

Chu Nian was a little puzzled by the interaction between the two and asked curiously, "Jing Ting, why am I always looking at Tathagata? Eat up, don't you love beef jerky the most?" As she spoke, she took out a large pile of beef jerky and put it on a clean plate.

"Hmm." Lin Jingting responded sullenly, glaring fiercely at Rulai as if Rulai had done something to wrong him.

Buddha stared at the beef jerky and asked, "What is this?"

"This is dried beef!" Lin Jingting said. "You're a monk, you can't eat meat, so don't eat it, continue eating your chestnuts!"

Buddha stared at the beef jerky and said, "The people at the foot of Mount Ling also make beef jerky, but it is quite different from this."

Chu Nian felt that his mouth was practically watering.

People say that the Living Buddha Ji Gong was a man of few words, and now Chu Nian finally understands where he learned this habit from: it turns out that his master, the Buddha Tathagata, was just like that!

Chu Nian said, "If you want to eat, then eat. I promise I won't tell anyone."

The Buddha said solemnly, “Because of the location of our Mount Ling, there was no food thousands of years ago, and the believers offered mostly dried meat.”

Chu Nian: "Eat whatever you want, no need to explain so much."

Buddha reached for the beef jerky, but Lin Jingting was quick and snatched the plate away. He then turned around and ate it with his back to Buddha, holding the plate himself.

“Demon Lord, it’s no fun for you to keep everything to yourself like this,” said Buddha.

Lin Jingting ignored him and continued eating, displaying the same relished expression as when Buddha was eating almonds earlier.

Buddha looked at Chu Nian with a wronged expression: "Look, he won't let me eat!"

Chu Nian glared at Lin Jingting with a hint of anger in her eyes, and Lin Jingting immediately put the plate back on the table.

Buddha immediately smiled smugly, picked up a piece of beef jerky and savored it, his eyes lighting up as he ate.

Lin Jingting thought for a moment and said, "Niannian, you benefited a lot from your last trip to Lingshan. Have you ever thought about going back to Lingshan again?"

Buddha immediately tensed up, and his hand, which was about to grab the beef jerky, stopped in mid-air.

Chu Nian asked him, puzzled, "Buddha, are you afraid that I will go to Mount Ling?"

Buddha frankly admitted, "It's fine for you to go to Mount Ling, but I'm worried that your master will come to Mount Ling to demand an explanation again. You should go to Mount Demon! Isn't your relationship with the Demon Lord quite close?"

Chu Nian: "What are you afraid of? You've already left Mount Ling to travel. Even if my master goes, it won't bother you."

Buddha said, “That is true, but my disciples and grand-disciples do not have such cultivation. I am afraid they cannot withstand your master’s strength. Your master is the kind of person who can make a proper Buddhist become a demon.”

Chu Nian glanced at Lin Jingting: This guy was forced into a state of suspended animation by Kong Yuan, which shows that Kong Yuan's strength is indeed not something that ordinary people can withstand.

She let out a long, helpless sigh.

Lin Jingting: "You are now the Supreme Elder of Qingyun Temple, and I've heard that no one in the entire Emei Sect is stronger than you. You should be able to go wherever you want now, and no one will care!"

Like the Buddha, who was clearly seen as the patriarch of Buddhism, yet mingled with the demon king. Even if some people objected to his actions, his statement, "All beings are equal, and there is no distinction between demons and Buddhas in this world," could silence everyone.

While his statement is valid, and his actions are arguably correct since they don't harm others, who could do what he does if they didn't have his power and status?!

However, on the other hand, if he didn't have such a detached mindset that sees through all things in the world, how could he have reached such a transcendent state?

This problem is like the "chicken or the egg" dilemma; there's no clear answer.

"You've eaten and drunk your fill, now you can leave!" More than an hour later, seeing that the two were still lingering there, Chu Nian directly gave them the order to leave.

Tathagata was a little embarrassed. He put the peeled chestnut shells on the table and turned to look at Lin Jingting.