CHAPTER 471: CHAPTER 422: CONVERSION

Fortunately, due to the angle, no one besides He Fanshuang saw the gestures Li Ang drew with his pen. Sui Yi was also entirely concentrated on listening to Jianquan Monk’s speech, paying no attention to Li Ang.

"What kind of world does the Buddha want?"

Jianquan Monk said with his palms together, "Some monks say the Buddha wants to extinguish the filth of the world and purify the Five Defiled Worlds. That is wrong. Under that logic, the most efficient way to eradicate worldly filth would be to end the root of its existence—meaning, to have everyone die.

"Without the birth of new life, the world could achieve a state of purity—but this is clearly not what the Buddha yearns for.

"What the Buddha wants is for all humanity to be guided to the Pure Land. What is the Pure Land? It is a place of extreme abundance and joy, filled with gold, silver, jewels, Glaze Glass, and pearls. Because of this abundance, there would be no envy or greed, no conflict among people. Everyone would be generous and selfless, noble in spirit, willing to share their riches with other worlds.

"Why does the Buddha portray the Pure Land as pure and this world as the Five Defiled Worlds?

"Because the era he lived in was too fraught with suffering and poverty, unable to achieve extreme material abundance, he could only describe the Pure Land to the people of the world as existing within the spirit.

"Yes, the Buddha was only a cultivator. He could not manifest infinite gold, silver, jewels, Glaze Glass, and pearls in this world. Therefore, he had to persuade people towards goodness in this way, encouraging them to seek liberation within their hearts. In a sense, your Academic Palace is more like the Buddha than the monkhood perceives Buddha to be.

"But this isn’t to say the Buddha wasn’t grand. Persuading and assisting people towards goodness is an extremely arduous task with scant reward. It’s one that requires immense courage, perseverance, will, wisdom, and benevolence, especially after recognizing the baseness in many people’s natures."

Born from humanity’s noblest ideals, destroyed by humanity’s basest desires? A phrase suddenly flashed across Li Ang’s mind. In a trance, he seemed to see the Buddha’s Golden Body turn red, his hand picking up a sickle and hammer.

"Shariputra," Jianquan continued, "you should know that in the Five Defiled Worlds, by pursuing this difficult task, I have attained Anuttarā Samyaksaṃbodhi. I preach this hard-to-believe Dharma to all the worlds, which is extremely challenging.

"Guiding humanity is fraught with endless challenges. The Buddha couldn’t achieve this in his lifetime, so he passed down the marvelous Dharma for people to save themselves. And now, the time for transformation has arrived."

Jianquan spoke calmly, "Many years ago, I attained the Candle Cloud realm and read through the scriptures of all schools: Taihao Mountain, the Academic Palace, Zen, the Former Sui Sect, and even the records of the Demon Sect.

"I realized one principle—the Six Paths of Liberation.

"The Buddha wanted to transform humanity, turning all beings into peaceful, joyful, contented Bodhisattvas free of selfishness and impure thoughts. Essentially, he wanted humanity’s spirit to evolve.

"My Six Paths of Liberation drags the human spirit into the Six Paths of Reincarnation Illusion that I created.

"They can, like me, experience the lives of others, learning true empathy through repeated cycles of rebirth, gradually erasing barriers, hostility, greed, anger, and foolishness.

"This is not about forgetting oneself, but rather collectively ascending to a higher state of existence."

"Drag the human spirit into the Six Paths of Reincarnation Illusion?" Sui Yi exclaimed in shock. "How is that any different from the Demon Sect’s tyranny and oppression over the common people? As for helping humanity achieve Bodhisattvahood, even the Buddha couldn’t accomplish this. What makes you, Master Jianquan, so confident that you can succeed?"

"The difference lies in this," Jianquan replied. "The Demon Sect wishes you harm; I wish you well.

"Imagine a blind man walking on a broken bridge. There’s a gap in the middle, and below is a turbulent, raging river. If he steps into the void, he would fall to an irrecoverable doom.

"A kind passerby sees this and goes forward to stop him. However, the blind man is anxious to return home. He believes the passerby is mocking or deceiving him, like other wicked people he has encountered, and even tries to hit the person with his cane.

"With no other choice, the kind-hearted person must forcibly drag the blind man away, leading him to an intact bridge that reaches the other shore."

Jianquan continued, "As for my desire to complete the Buddha’s unfinished work, it’s not born from arrogance or self-aggrandizement.

"Han Yu once said, ’A disciple need not be inferior to the master, and a master need not be more virtuous than the disciple. Hearing the Dao has its sequence; skills and studies have their specializations. That is all.’

"The Buddha passed down the marvelous Dharma. After countless generations of sages augmented and perfected it, and with the accumulation of a millennium of wisdom, I, this humble monk, stand before you at this very moment.

"All of this, like a flower blooming and bearing fruit, has come at just the right time."

Jianquan spoke with utmost calm, devoid of any sense of arrogance, pride, anticipation, or excitement, as if he were discussing something to be expected. He truly believed he could fulfill all the aspirations of his Zen Meditation and accomplish the great work of guiding all people to enlightenment.

All those present were shocked by Jianquan’s grand vision—or perhaps, his audacious fantasy.

To recreate reincarnation, to guide others to Buddhahood—this was simply... unimaginable.

"To achieve this purpose," Jianquan stated, "I have done many things that the ’Jianquan’ of the past would not, and did not want to, do.

"I will not attempt to defend or embellish these actions.

"Because I wanted to, was able to, I simply did them."

Jianquan said calmly, "A final word of advice: all of you still have the opportunity to join the Six Paths of Reincarnation. Do not waste this chance due to rash actions driven by emotion."

WHIZZ—

A Crossbow Arrow launched from the courtyard wall, talisman paper stuck to it—this was the garrison soldiers’ response to Jianquan.

BOOM!

The talisman paper exploded violently, engulfing Jianquan’s lean, short stature.

Arrows rained down from all directions, igniting fires that leaped into the sky. Large amounts of soil and rock were blasted loose and pulverized.

The gap between low-level cultivators and Great Practitioners is substantial, but it can be partly bridged through the unity and cooperation of personnel and the strategic deployment of equipment.

In just a few moments, the garrison soldiers on the walls had launched nearly a thousand talisman arrows. All sorts of Mutated Objects, like the Demon Suppression Bell, the Demon-suppressing Mirror, the Heart Disturbing Banner, and Earth Anchors, were directed towards the center of the square.

Sui Yi narrowed her eyes, standing firm as if her feet were nailed to the ground. Crimson Yinghuo Sword Energy swirled around her, deflecting all incoming sand and stone. At the same time, with a wave of her hand, she generated a gentle current of air, pushing Li Ang and He Fanshuang far away.

As the dust and smoke gradually cleared, the ground in the center of the prison square was revealed to be a wreck, riddled with pits and craters. Each shallow pit steamed, gradually filling with murky water welling up from below.

And at the very center, Jianquan maintained the position of his hands clasped in prayer. A great phantom bell of Buddha Light enveloped him, protecting him so he was completely unscathed. Even the two corpses at his feet remained untouched.

"Amitabha Buddha."

Jianquan’s expression was devoid of sorrow or joy. He let out a deep sigh, as if lamenting that his sincere and earnest words had failed to sway the crowd and prevent unnecessary bloodshed.

"In that case, dear benefactors," he said, his voice soft, "we shall meet within the cycle of reincarnation."

Jianquan lowered his chin slightly. The Shadow Demon at his feet stretched and elongated. Like the hands of a clock, it gradually pointed towards the high rooftop of the Xingzhou Prison. It then began to expand, completely enveloping the Xingzhou Prison and spreading towards the surrounding buildings in all directions.

Wherever moonlight reached, wherever candlelight touched, the entirety of Xingzhou City fell under the Shadow Demon’s domain.