Volume 1, Chapter 486 – Blasphemer

The concept of karma was not valued by the Buddhist sects alone. Daoism and the Confucian path likewise attached great importance to it.

Yet these three traditions understood karma in completely different ways. The Confucian path concerned itself only with this life and asked nothing of the next. What it sought was no more than a clear conscience. If one’s conduct was upright, one’s shadow would stand straight. Good deeds would surely bring good results, while flaws in one’s virtue would inevitably invite calamity.

Daoism cultivated truth and pursued long life and lasting sight, believing in the burden carried by the Heavenly Dao.

“The former plant the trees, the latter enjoy the shade; the former court disaster, the latter suffer the consequences.” At its core, it was merely the heavenly principle that good is rewarded with good and evil with evil. The causes planted today would manifest in later generations.

As for the karma understood by Buddhism, from what Shi Lan knew, it would affect three lifetimes. The result of today was already predetermined, arising from a cause planted at some moment in the past. The causes planted in this life would inevitably bear fruit in the next.

“The matter of karma touches too much. Even a true Buddha cannot escape its restraints, nor transcend beyond it. In this old monk’s view, although the word karma places cause before effect, it may not necessarily be that cause comes first. It may also be that effect comes first. Take today, for example. The benefactor bringing this statue here may itself be the cause that occurred in order to bring about some result in the future.”

Kongchan gently turned the prayer beads in his hand and shook his head slightly.

“You need only hear those words, benefactor. There is no need to dwell on them, nor to let them trouble you. Simply maintain the heart you have now and keep walking forward. Leave the rest to time.”

A trace of doubt arose in Shi Lan’s heart. Had she come to the Lingyang Realm because of some inevitable result in the future as well?

“Many thanks, Master.”

She did not press further. Lowering her head, she offered her thanks, bowed before the Buddha statue, and withdrew from the pagoda.

…

…

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In this land bathed in Buddhist light, preparations for the dharma assembly were astonishingly swift.

In just half an hour, Jingyou had already gathered one hundred and seven eminent monks, all of whom had condensed dharma bodies, making them powerhouses equivalent to the Martial Dao Nascent Soul Realm.

In order to deliver the resentful spirits within, Kongchan opened a merit lotus pond. Brilliant divine radiance filled the void, and golden lotuses blossomed one after another.

The stone statue was placed above the lotus pond. Including Kongchan, one hundred and eight eminent monks surrounded it in a circular formation.

Buddhist chants echoed between heaven and earth, condensing into vast Buddhist light that fell from the Nine Heavens and washed over the towering resentment on the stone statue.

“Roar!”

Billowing black qi surged out of the statue, carrying countless dead souls with it. Their agonized howls overlapped and resounded through the cosmos, their fiend aura shooting into the sky.

They had been bound within the statue for who knew how many years, suffering torment every moment, unable to escape. Their resentment was enough to shock the world.

Kongchan’s eyelids were half-open, his expression compassionate. His hand formed a meditation seal, and a layer of golden lacquer seemed to spread across his aged face. Streams of true words flowed from his mouth, and countless golden lotuses bloomed into being.

A living Bodhisattva who had attained fruition was now displaying supreme divine power, chanting Buddhist true words and drawing forth countless phenomena. Behind him, a vortex appeared, and on the other side of it leaked a dense deathly fiend aura.

That was the far shore of Huangquan.

This passage was different from the route forcibly blasted through the yin-yang boundary wall by supreme powerhouses. It was only a one-way path, with no possibility of return. Only the dead could pass through it.

Unlike the breaches forcibly torn open in the yin-yang barrier by supreme powerhouses, this passage is a strict one-way route with no path of return. Only the undead are permitted to pass through it.

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Buzz—

The stone statue shrouded in layer upon layer of Buddhist light gave a violent tremor. The billowing black qi pouring out from within it transformed into an enormous shadow. In an instant, it flipped upright, brandishing a long blade formed from condensed black qi, and slashed toward Kongchan high in the sky.

Kongchan’s expression did not change in the slightest. His cassock fluttered as he chanted a demon-subduing great spell. Raising his hands and bringing his palms together, he struck downward. A towering phantom of an ancient Buddha appeared in midair and brought down a giant palm like thunder.

A living Bodhisattva, with but a single thought, had gods and Buddhas of all heavens protecting him. Neither ghosts nor spirits could harm him.

Boom!

The black shadow had no strength to resist at all. It was shattered in an instant and directly dispersed.

Red light flashed through the statue’s eyes. Suddenly, it turned as if it were a living thing and slowly swept its gaze in all directions. In the next instant, its sight locked onto Shi Lan in the distance.

“Blasphemer…”

The hoarse low growl made Shi Lan frown involuntarily.

The black qi soon dispersed. The crimson glow in the statue’s eyes gradually faded and it returned to lifeless silence.

…

This dharma assembly lasted an entire day and night.

As the dead souls were guided into Huangquan, the black qi grew weaker and weaker. The originally pitch-black statue became lighter and lighter in color, until in the end it turned pale bluish-white and all fiend aura disappeared.

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Buzz—

The instant the vortex behind Kongchan vanished, a thick layer of golden merit light descended from the void and was absorbed by the merit lotus pond. In the end, it split into two portions, one of which fell toward the heads of the assembled eminent monks.

Once the golden merit light entered their bodies, the Buddhist light around all the eminent monks apart from Kongchan surged by an entire level. Their cultivation rose by at least one minor realm, and their Buddhist dharma advanced greatly.

The other half of the golden merit light descended directly toward Shi Lan, which took her somewhat by surprise.

This half of the merit was even greater than the share of the hundred-odd eminent monks who had presided over the rite combined.

However, this merit did not produce a qualitative breakthrough in her cultivation. It only brought her one step closer to the late Heaven-Man Realm.

This portion of the golden merit light was not fully absorbed by her. Instead, it lay hidden deep within her body. Since she had never cultivated Buddhist dharma, she was naturally far less capable than those eminent monks when it came to making use of golden merit light.

Though she did not understand it, her intuition told her that golden merit light was far more than a simple means of raising one’s cultivation.

Kongchan closed the merit lotus pond and sent the stone statue before Shi Lan.

All the fiend aura within the statue had been completely washed away. It had already become a purely dead object, and the world source crystal embedded in it had likewise returned to its most primal state, gleaming with clear glass-like radiance.

For Shi Lan, this trip could already be considered a complete success.

“Many thanks, benefactor, for this good deed.”

Kongchan brought his palms together and bowed slightly in thanks.

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“I had something to gain from it. I cannot bear the words ‘good deed.’”

Shi Lan shook her head slightly and struck the statue with a palm, shattering it. She took the world source crystal into her hand. With this source crystal, she would be able to bring the True Martial Undying Body to complete perfection and cultivate the Undying Body. Her confidence in surviving the world-ending great tribulation would be even greater.

“Please wait, benefactor.”

After dealing with the statue, Shi Lan had no intention of lingering and was about to leave at once when Kongchan called out to stop her.

He took out a Guanyin jade pendant and a scroll of scripture from his sleeve and handed them over.

“If this old monk has not seen wrongly, then when you first entered the Martial Dao through body tempering, the art you cultivated should have been the Vajra Divine Fist. This Vajra Demon-Crushing Divine Ability should be of some use to you.”

The Vajra Divine Fist was, after all, a foundational body-tempering art. Although it could serve as an offensive method, compared to the various great divine abilities, it still fell somewhat short.

Shi Lan was tempted. She would never think she had too many methods at her disposal, and any secret art that could be called a divine ability was no simple thing. But after thinking for a moment, she still shook her head.

“I have rendered no service and cannot accept such gifts. I fear that would be inappropriate.”

“Just accept them, benefactor. To us, merit far surpasses such worldly objects. This Guanyin pendant can also help you clarify your Dao-heart.”

Having said this, Kongchan left the two treasures behind and turned to walk straight toward the pagoda. His upright back gradually bent with age.

“Only one who can cleanse the heart may rise above the crowd.”