Chapter 240: Admitting one's mistakes and correcting them is the greatest virtue
Lingshan, the rear hall of the Leiyin Temple.
Next to the Eight Treasures Merit Pond.
The Tathagata sat cross-legged on a lotus platform, with Ananda and Guanyin serving on his left and right.
In the pond, nine golden lotuses were shining brightly, swaying in the wind, scattering countless mists and raising endless purple air.
The golden lotus in the Merit Pond is closely related to the fortune of Buddhism.
After Tang Monk went to the West to obtain Buddhist scriptures, two of the three golden lotuses that were about to bloom in the lotus pond suddenly blossomed, the remaining one has already bloomed most of the way, and the last one that is in bud is about to mature.
Above the lotus, a curtain of water was suspended in the air, emitting a bright light.
The images on the water curtain were flowing , showing the fight between Li Anran and others and Kunpeng.
It started from the time when the Great Emperor Zhenwu and the Jiejiao joined forces to besiege the Demon Master's Mansion in Beijuluzhou, to the time when the Great Emperor Zhenwu deliberately lured the Demon Master's Mansion to attack Beitianmen, and then to the time when Zhenyuanzi, Hongyun Patriarch, Li Anran, Yang Jian and others besieged Kunpeng, until Li Anran and others took Kunpeng and a group of ancient demon saints into the Lingxiao Palace, and then they disappeared.
Just like the six-eared macaque's innate magical power can eavesdrop on most of the movements in the three realms, but he dare not eavesdrop casually.
With the help of the Eight Waters of Concentration in the Eight Treasures Merit Pond , Tathagata can almost detect what is happening in various places in the Three Realms.
However, this behavior is full of malicious hostility.
Even Tathagata, the Buddha of Buddhism, does not dare to use it indiscriminately.
It would be fine to use it to spy on what's going on inside and outside the Heavenly Palace, but if it is used to spy on what's going on inside the Lingxiao Palace, it would be rubbing the Jade Emperor's face into the ground.
The picture disappeared, and the water curtain turned into specks of light falling into the pool.
Guanyin looked a little solemn, with a little worry: "Buddha, the golden crow feather that Wu Dang Holy Mother got from Lu Ya should have recorded the method of refining the Chaos Bell."
"If she can succeed in the ritual, and Jiejiao obtains the Chaos Bell to suppress its destiny, the current situation in the Three Realms will probably change completely."
Tathagata said: "The military has no fixed position, water has no fixed shape, and the strength and prosperity of all things in the Three Realms are constantly changing. When the Jiejiao was weak, my Lingshan and Xuanmen were vying to make friends with it and often gave in. When it becomes strong, everything will be different."
During the catastrophe of Conferred Gods, the Chan and Ren sects joined forces with the Western sect and the Queen Wa Palace to bring the Jie sect to an end from which there was no recovery, and almost cut off the Taoist inheritance.
When Jiejiao was weak, Xuanmen and Lingshan would compete to win it over and give it benefits.
However, if Jiejiao can really compete with Buddhism and Taoism, Buddhism and Taoism will definitely join forces to suppress it.
"Disciple understands." Guanyin is also a smart person and understands it immediately.
Tathagata said, "The Golden Holy Mother died, Zhao Gongming's luck was greatly damaged, and only Wu Dang Holy Mother and Yun Xiao are left in Jiejiao. Even if there is the Chaos Bell to suppress their luck, they are not to be feared."
"What I am worried about are Yang Jian and Li Anran. One of them has only practiced for ten thousand years, and the other has not even practiced for a thousand years, but they have already achieved such a high level of cultivation. I am afraid they will become a great threat to our Buddhist sect in the future."
Ananda is the Tathagata's disciple, and Guanyin is the Tathagata's confidant.
In front of the two of them, Tathagata did not say any empty words, but spoke directly what was in his mind.
Guanyin remained silent.
Judging from the performance of Yang Jian and Li Anran just now, their strength is far beyond that of ordinary Daluo Jinxian and is not inferior to her.
More importantly, Li Anran and Yang Jian are still in a period of rapid growth and are far from reaching their respective limits. If they continue like this, it is hard to say how far they can go!
Ananda said, "Buddha, Yang Jian has been in Xuanmen for a long time, so he must be loyal to Xuanmen. But Li Anran has only been worshipping Taiyi Tianzun as his master for a few decades, and he is only a prison god now."
"He may not be very loyal to Taiyi Tianzun. Why don't we offer him great benefits and convert him to Buddhism? This will not only weaken the Xuanmen, but also strengthen Lingshan. It's a two-pronged approach..."
When Ananda first spoke, he was still full of confidence, but as he spoke, he noticed that Tathagata and Guanyin were looking at him with a helpless and speechless look, and his voice became smaller and smaller.
As expected, as soon as he finished speaking, Guanyin said, "Venerable Ananda, it's not that simple. You only see that Li Anran is a prison god, but you don't think about how he, a casual cultivator with no background, could break through to the Daluo Jinxian realm in such a short time. How much did Taiyi Tianzun sacrifice for him?"
After hesitating for a moment, Guanyin looked at Tathagata and said, "Buddha, when I converted to Buddhism, the Four Swords of Immortal Execution were still in the hands of Chi Jingzi and others, and had not been taken back by Saint Tongtian. They may still be in the Three Realms now."
"I have heard from Holy Mother Wu Dang that Li Anran learned the Immortal Execution Formation from somewhere and has mastered it. Some time ago, Tianzun Taiyi kept him in the Golden Light Cave on Qianyuan Mountain to practice in seclusion."
"I suspect that Taiyi Tianzun and his men have already bestowed the Four Swords of Immortal Execution on Li Anran. He may have already succeeded in refining the sword, and that is why he followed Taiyi Tianzun's orders to come out of seclusion to rescue Nezha and return to heaven."
Tathagata sighed and said, "Your Excellency's words also reflect my concerns. The Immortal Execution Formation is the greatest killing formation in the Three Realms. In the hands of the Sage Tongtian, it cannot be broken without the combined efforts of the Four Sages. Even if Li Anran cannot exert its full power, but only one tenth or one twelfth of it, no one in the Three Realms can stop him."
Guanyin nodded in agreement, but she didn't have any better solution for the moment.
The situation in the three realms is relatively stable now. Buddhism and Taoism, including the Heavenly Court and the Jiejiao, are all restrained, fearing that the two sides will get angry and cause a catastrophe between heaven and earth.
Unless Li Anran did something unforgivable and happened to fall into their hands.
Otherwise, they can just resort to covert tactics while maintaining superficial harmony.
These methods are still useful for ordinary cultivators, but for a Daluo Jinxian, especially a Daluo Jinxian who may have a Zhuxian Formation, they are completely inadequate!
The atmosphere was a little depressing for a moment.
After a while, Tathagata asked, "Venerable Avalokitesvara, do you know anything about Venerable Kasyapa?"
Guanyin nodded.
Tathagata continued, "I asked him to reincarnate in Jambudvīpa to spread the Buddha's teachings. This is only one of the reasons. Besides this, there is another more important reason."
"Within a hundred years, there will be a catastrophe that will start from our Buddhist world and spread to the entire Three Realms. At that time, the devil will rise and the Tao will fall, and the immortals and Buddhas will be silent. No living being in the Three Realms, whether it is gods, Buddhas, humans or ghosts, will be spared."
Guanyin's heart was shaken, and she cried out, "Buddha, we immortals and Buddhas have made so many efforts, but we still can't prevent the catastrophe from coming?"
Tathagata explained: "This calamity is not that calamity, it is the calamity of the Buddha, and also my calamity."
Guanyin was slightly startled, but soon understood what Tathagata meant.
This catastrophe is probably the same as the previous journey to the West, the current Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea, and the Heavenly Court's siege of the Demon Master's Mansion. They are all man-made disasters, using this method to eliminate karma.
Guanyin immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
Tathagata said solemnly: "Although this catastrophe is not a catastrophe of heaven and earth, it is also very serious. When the time comes, I will be reincarnated as a spiritual child. If I fail to survive the catastrophe, I will completely dissipate, and the Buddhist world will also undergo earth-shaking changes, and it will be difficult to return to the past."
Guanyin was shocked: "Reincarnated spirit boy?! Buddha, why is this? Is there any demon in the Three Realms that can defeat the Buddha?"
Tathagata said: "He and I are evenly matched, and it is difficult to tell who will win. If I want to subdue him, I have to take this risk."
Ananda at the side could not help but say: "Buddha, I have thirty-five Buddhas in Lingshan, as well as many Bodhisattvas, Arhats, Kālaksāra, and Dharma protectors. Can't we deal with a demon? Why would Buddha risk his life?"
Guanyin nodded in agreement.
What kind of person is the demon master Kunpeng?
Under the siege of the Jiejiao people, isn't it still impossible to escape the fate of being captured?
Even if that evil spirit really had the strength of Tathagata, it would still be difficult to escape death under the siege of the Buddhas!
Tathagata shook his head and said, "This is destiny, it cannot be violated by human power."
He raised his hand again to signal the two men not to ask any more questions, and said to Guanyin: "Venerable, if you want to survive this catastrophe, you need to pay attention to two points. The first is Venerable Kasyapa. I made him reincarnate just to deal with this catastrophe. When the time comes, the Bodhisattva will have to come down to earth in person to enlighten him."
In the original time and space, it was the monkey who acted as Tathagata's chess piece and played games with Wujitian.
But now, because of Li Anran, the real monkey and the fake monkey have been swapped.
The six-eared macaque went to the West to obtain Buddhist scriptures on behalf of the Monkey King and became the Fighting Buddha of Buddhism. However, due to his greed, he interfered in the affairs of the God of War and the Dragon King of Jinghe River and was caught by Li Anran and thrown into the Heavenly Prison.
Tathagata had always looked down on the Six-Eared Macaque, and this made him look down on him even more.
Therefore, he decided to reincarnate his disciple, Venerable Kashyapa, also known as the Arhat Subduing the Dragon, and use him to fight against Wu Tian.
Tathagata doesn't know yet that the monkey has now defected to Wujitian and wants to join forces with Wujitian to deal with him.
Otherwise, he would not have sent only one dragon down to earth!
"Disciple understands." Guanyin nodded in response.
She has been doing this kind of enlightenment a lot over the years and has become very good at it.
Tathagata continued, "The second is that we need to gather the strength of all beings in the three realms. Only by working together can we overcome this disaster..."
As he was speaking, Tathagata's voice suddenly stopped, and he stared towards the direction of heaven with a frown on his face.
"Buddha?" Guanyin was about to ask when she suddenly felt a sense of panic in her heart, as if something bad was about to happen.
The Tathagata raised his hand to signal Guanyin to calm down, and said to Ananda beside him: "Ananda, Taibai Jinxing is coming to my Lingshan Mountain, you go and bring him here."
"Yes, disciple." Ananda took the order and left.
After a while, Ananda came in with Taibai Jinxing.
"Taibai Jinxing greets the Buddha." Taibai Jinxing greeted respectfully, his eyes swept to Guanyin next to him, a hint of surprise and guilt flashed across his face.
Guanyin noticed this and her heart suddenly skipped a beat.
She originally guessed that Taibai Jinxing came over because the Heavenly Court might want to invite Tathagata to attend the celebration banquet.
——When Tathagata suppressed the monkey, the Jade Emperor even held a meeting to comfort the heaven.
Now that we have suppressed the Demon Master's Mansion and have made a great success, it would be weird if we don't hold a banquet!
It was not until now that Guanyin realized that Taibai Jinxing’s visit might be related to her, and it was not a good thing!
"Thank you for your courtesy, Star Lord." Tathagata returned the greeting and asked, "Did Star Lord come here with a message from the Great Celestial Lord?"
Taibai Jinxing uttered a "hmm" sound, feeling uneasy, and not daring to look at Guanyin. After struggling for a long time, he finally gritted his teeth, held up the imperial edict with both hands, and said, "This is the imperial edict that His Majesty asked me to hand over to the Buddha."
Taibai Jinxing's behavior was somewhat rude, but he really didn't dare to complain in front of Guanyin!
As one of the five planet gods in heaven, Taibai Jinxing is the master of swordsmanship and the murderous power of generals. He is not the good guy as people in later generations think of him.
On the contrary, he is a military general in Heaven. He became the Jade Emperor's confidant by relying on his strength and was responsible for delivering messages and conveying orders.
But, in front of Guanyin, he is far behind!
"What on earth happened that could make Taibai Jinxing behave so abnormally?" Guanyin frowned even more tightly, recalling what she had done quickly in her head.
Soon, she thought of Zhen Yuanzi, who joined forces with Li Anran, Yang Jian and others to deal with Kunpeng!
"Is it something about Tongtian River?"
Guanyin's pupils suddenly shrank and her heartbeat quickened, but she quickly calmed down.
All the aquatic creatures in Tongtian River have been led by her into the reincarnation tunnel. Even if Zhen Yuanzi discovered something, he has no evidence to come to me!
Tathagata noticed the change in Guanyin's expression, but did not speak. He said to Ananda, "Ananda."
Ananda immediately stepped forward, took the imperial edict, and respectfully handed it to the Tathagata.
Tathagata opened the imperial edict and began to read it.
Taibai Jinxing stood there obediently, without looking around, just waiting for Tathagata's reply.
Soon, Tathagata finished reading the imperial edict and handed it to Guanyin: "Venerable Guanyin, this matter has something to do with you. Please come and take a look."
Guanyin couldn't wait any longer. She took the imperial edict and looked at it, and her face suddenly changed.
She wanted to deny it, but the content of the imperial edict was clear and organized, and all the evidence was listed very clearly, leaving her no room for quibbling.
More importantly, since the Heavenly Court has sent this imperial edict, there must be conclusive evidence and the decision has been made.
Guanyin's expression changed for a while, and she knelt down in front of the Tathagata's lotus platform, asking for forgiveness: "I am guilty of this. I shouldn't have protected the disciples under your seat. Please punish me, Buddha."
Tathagata said, "What on earth is going on? Please tell me in detail!"
Guanyin said: "Sixty-seven years ago, when I was helping Zhenyuan Daxian to heal the ginseng fruit tree, I saw that the ginseng fruit looked like a child, and I thought of the demons in the mortal world who forced mortals to offer young boys and girls as sacrifices."
"After returning to the Purple Bamboo Forest, I accidentally mentioned this incident while preaching to my fellow disciples."
"I said this unintentionally, but the listener took it seriously. The spirit in my pool became greedy and wanted to come down to earth to test whether it was true or not..."
"...After learning about this, I was furious and panicked, and hurried to the Tongtian River... I was afraid that the reputation of my Buddhist sect would be damaged..."
Guanyin admitted that the method of refining the human elixir was indeed from her hands and that she had saved the souls of all the aquatic creatures in Tongtian River. These two points of evidence are conclusive and unquestionable.
However, the former is said to be an unintentional mistake, and the latter is said to be a momentary evil thought for the sake of the reputation of Buddhism.
The rest are all attributed to the King of Inspiration.
The four words "avoid the important and focus on the trivial" are interpreted vividly.
Tathagata was no less sympathetic. He sighed and said, "It is a great virtue to know one's mistakes and correct them. This matter is not entirely your fault. It was that evil creature who did evil and implicated you! You should go with Taibai Xingjun and tell the Great Heavenly Venerable everything! The Great Heavenly Venerable will definitely give you justice!"
at the same time.
Li Anran personally escorted Kunpeng and a group of ancient demon saints from the Demon Master's Mansion to the outside of the Heavenly Prison.
The moment he stepped into the Heavenly Prison.
The Book of Punishing Evil was filled with light, and instantly more than a dozen new pages appeared.
