The underworld.
In the world of Precious Lotus Lantern, there are only three realms, namely the realms of heaven, humans and hell. Immortals and gods live in heaven, mortals live in the human world, and the dead go to the underworld.
Since the creation of reincarnation, yin and yang have been rotating, and the soul returns to reincarnation after death. After being judged by the Ten Kings of Hell, it either directly enters the six reincarnations, or first enters the eighteen levels of hell to atone for all its sins before reincarnation.
Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva entered the underworld later.
The underworld manages the dead, and the six realms of reincarnation are such a big piece of cake, so how could the Buddhists not be jealous? Although both the Xuanmen and the underworld were unwilling, they finally lost after a strict defense.
I will not become a Buddha until hell is empty.
When Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva first entered the underworld, he only occupied a small piece of land in Yinshan Mountain and was ostracized by the entire underworld. However, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva did not complain about the environment. He made such a great vow, so how could hell be empty? Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva almost devoted the rest of his life to the cause of Buddhism.
But hard work pays off.
Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's efforts were finally rewarded. The Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva today is no longer the same Buddhist Bodhisattva who first entered the underworld.
He now holds 10% of the power of the underworld. With the planning of Tathagata, the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of Buddhism are reincarnated from time to time to comprehend the mortal world. If it were not for Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, they would have no chance at all, and one reincarnation would be enough to trap them.
In the underworld today, all the 100,000 Yin Mountains belong to Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva.
The divine beast listens attentively under his seat, the three thousand disciples obey his orders, and even the Ten Kings of Hell, before making any important decisions, all have to listen to the opinion of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. The Buddha, Bodhisattvas, and Arhats in Buddhism are merely fruit positions, which do not necessarily represent strength, just like many Bodhisattvas in Buddhism are not as powerful as the Eighteen Arhats, and many Buddhas are not necessarily more powerful than Guanyin in strength.
Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva is a disciple of the ancient Buddha. In terms of status, he is actually not lower than Tathagata, Dipankara, Maitreya Buddha, and Medicine Buddha. His strength is naturally not bad, and may even be higher, reaching the peak of the Golden Immortal.
That’s right, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva has already reached the peak strength of the Golden Immortal, but due to the oath he made that year, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva has never left the underworld since he entered it. Not only has he not left the underworld, he has not even left the Hundred Thousand Yin Mountains. He devotes himself to meditation and teaching the dead to return to life and wash away their sins.
You can say that Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva has Buddhist thoughts, but you absolutely cannot erase Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva’s contributions to the living beings in the three realms.
In terms of great love, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva is definitely not inferior to anyone else in the three realms.
It's just a matter of stance, which is difficult for anyone to get rid of.
"The sublime Dharma is profound and subtle, and is hard to encounter in a hundred thousand aeons. I now see and hear it and am able to uphold it. I wish to understand the true meaning of the Tathagata..."
The sound of Buddhist chants spread to every corner of the Shiwan Yin Mountains. At the foot of the Shiwan Yin Mountains, in a large hall, a dark figure was surrounded by three thousand chains and could not move. His whole body seemed to have completely rotted away, except for his eyes, which were always bright, and his spine, which was always straight.
"Bodhisattva, are you annoying me for reciting sutras every day? Even if you are not annoyed, I am. It would be fine if you could just change the sutras you read. If you keep reciting them in my ear every day, I will learn how to recite them."
Faced with the monkey's complaints, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva just smiled and stopped only after reading the Ksitigarbha Sutra once.
"Oh, then read it again."
The monkey opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva shook his head when he saw this. "Wukong, I have said long ago that as long as you recite the Ksitigarbha Sutra once, these three thousand chains will open by themselves, and these ten thousand Yin Mountains will not be able to bind you. But you are unwilling to go out. Rather than saying that I have locked you up here, it is better to say that you yourself do not want to go out. Wukong, don't you agree?"
The monkey's eyes seemed to brighten when he heard this.
The five hundred years under the Five Elements Mountain had actually made the monkey realize a lot. Although those five hundred years were difficult, it must be said that they were the most peaceful times in the monkey's life. Then he went on a journey to obtain Buddhist scriptures. He met Tang Monk, the white dragon horse, Bajie, Sha Seng, and his old friends.
But the more time went on, the more the monkey discovered that it seemed that he had had two completely different dreams before and after the Five Elements Mountain.
After waking up from the dream, he found that everything was an illusion. Until he was pressed under the Ten Thousand Yin Mountains, the monkey felt that this was what it should be like when waking up from a dream. At the beginning, the monkey was still a little confused, a little resentful, and a little unwilling. He wanted to break free from these endless shackles and turn the world upside down.
But gradually, as time passed, the monkey suddenly realized that the current situation seemed to be the easiest and best.
Although he was suppressed under the Yin Mountain, he was still able to learn the news of the Flower-Fruit Mountain from Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. Although the impostor was hateful, he was actually no luckier than him, and perhaps even more pitiful. The monkey slowly discovered that he did not actually hate him. At least the impostor was still very good to his monkeys and grandchildren.
Looking at the joyful , the monkey actually felt that it would be good even if he stayed here for the rest of his life.
And as time passed, the monkey understood more. He found that war did not necessarily mean fighting with other people with real swords and guns. The way to fight was to fight with the sky, the earth, people, and the Tao. The most important thing was to fight with oneself. Fight to the end, until you can defeat yourself. Naturally, you will be invincible between heaven and earth and understand the true way of fighting.
The three thousand chains only locked the monkey's magic power and the monkey's body, but could not lock the monkey's heart.
The reason why he didn't leave Yinshan was simply because the monkey didn't want to leave, because he knew that as long as he stayed outside for one day, he would be difficult to escape the conspiracy. At the beginning, he thought that he could use the iron rod in his hand to overturn the Heavenly Palace and destroy the Western Paradise, and even shouted, I want to become an immortal and be as happy as the sky.
But it was not until he was pressed under the Yinshan Mountain that he finally woke up from the dream. The so-called happiness was just given by others.
Monkey met two masters in his life.
One is Bodhi who taught him skills. After leaving Fangcun Mountain, the monkey always kept his master's instructions in mind and never mentioned his master in front of others. As time went by, he said less and less. It seemed that just as the master said, he was always getting into trouble, and was always on the way to getting into trouble.
He tried to look for Bodhi, but it was as if it had completely disappeared, or even never existed.
Later he met Tang Seng again. He hated Tang Seng's nagging and his fussy and weak compassion, but he could also feel Tang Seng's concern for him. That concern was real, unlike the false feelings before. It was as sincere as Bodhi's love for him. Therefore, the monkey was willing to escort Tang Seng all the way.
It's the same even if you're misunderstood or cursed mercilessly.
Until he was replaced by the impostor and imprisoned under the Yinshan Mountain, he saw that Tang Seng acted as if nothing had happened and continued to act as if he didn't know anything. The monkey's heart was completely chilled. It turned out that this world could really go on without anyone, including him. He was tired and exhausted. The Yinshan Mountain was nice and seemed cold, but the monkey felt very safe there.
"Wukong, you can't hide from the karma of this world just because you want to. Even if you hide here all the time, someone will always come to you. Look, someone is already here."
Um!
As Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva finished speaking, the monkey suddenly opened his eyes, and at a glance, a figure came into his sight.
That idiot was crossing the gates of hell , stepping over the underworld, and heading towards the Yin Mountains.
His expression froze, and the monkey knew that Bajie must have discovered the impostor a long time ago. This idiot looked cunning, lazy, greedy, and stupid, but the monkey really knew that among the group of four people and one horse, the one who could be seen most clearly was this idiot, who always seemed to be slacking off. The monkey before thought that this idiot was simply lazy.
Later, he slowly figured it out. This idiot really knew the key to this business, which was not theirs. Whether they were serious or not, the result would be the same. Compared to him, this idiot might be more pitiful. He was the Grand Marshal of the Heavenly Navy, but in the end, his destiny was not in his own hands.
The monkey didn't blame the idiot because it was all fate.
But he doesn't believe in fate!
There seemed to be a flame burning in the monkey's eyes. After so many years of being locked up under the Yin Mountain, the monkey's cultivation had actually increased step by step. He was now in the late Golden Immortal stage, and was only one step away from the peak of the Golden Immortal stage. The reason why he could not take this step was because the monkey had never let go from the beginning to the end, but did not know how to fight for it.
confused!
Yes, it was the first time that the monkey was confused.
"Brother Monkey, Brother Monkey, can you hear me? Master said you are right here. If you can hear me, please answer me!"
Brother Monkey!
Hearing Bajie's call, the monkey couldn't help but feel a little more nostalgic, and there was even more warmth in his eyes.
Although this idiot is annoying, he is indeed close to him.
Seeing Bajie start shouting after entering Yinshan Mountain, the monkey couldn't help but laugh. After so many years, this idiot is still so stupid.
"Buddha, please send that idiot over here."
Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva showed no expression of either sadness or joy, but the next moment, Bajie, who was still running around on Yinshan Mountain, appeared directly in the hall where the monkey was imprisoned.
Bajie was in a trance for a moment. After he stood firm, he saw the three thousand chains in front of him and the monkey surrounded by the three thousand chains. He couldn't help but look sad and angry, and two lines of tears flowed from the corners of his eyes.
"Brother Monkey, I don't know. I really don't know."
A rare smile appeared on the monkey's face. He knew that what Bajie meant by "I didn't know" was not that he didn't know that he had been replaced, but that he didn't know that he would be treated like this by the Buddhists and would suffer here forever.
"Fool, you went through so many disasters back then and almost got steamed alive, but you didn't cry. Why are you howling in front of me today? I'm not dead yet, so stop bringing shame to me."
Hearing the monkey's powerful voice and familiar tone, Bajie stopped crying and looked at the monkey in surprise.
"Brother Monkey, why don't you scold me? I backed down when I was old pig."
Seeing Bajie looking like he was waiting to be scolded, the monkey couldn't help but laugh.
"Scold you! Idiot, what's the point of scolding you? Fortunately, you backed down that year, otherwise, you really wouldn't be able to see me, Old Sun."
Bajie's eyes darkened when he heard this. He was not a monkey. Monkeys could only be imprisoned at most, but he was different. If he really stood up, he might really die. Even without the monkeys, they could still survive, let alone him.
"Brother Monkey, I."
Looking at Bajie's hesitation, the monkey couldn't help feeling a little impatient.
"Why are you being as nagging as a monk? If you have anything to say, just tell me. Are those people from the Buddhist sect in trouble again and they asked you to come to me, Old Sun?"
After hearing this, Bajie was silent for a while, but finally nodded.
"Brother Monkey, I'm not here to ask you to help the Buddhist sect. They treated you like this. If you help them again, you will be the biggest enemy in the three realms. I just heard from Master that you are still alive, so I wanted to come and see you and try to save you."
Master!
It turned out that he really knew that he had been imprisoned. After hearing what Bajie said, the monkey felt even colder in his heart. Perhaps Tang Seng knew his feelings and didn't want to involve him in anything anymore, so he didn't want to see him. But the monkey still felt cold in his heart, because in his heart, there was always hope.
Although he said that he would never leave Yinshan Mountain for the rest of his life, after Monkey King, if Tang Monk really came and asked him to go out, he might still go out.
But.
"Fool, is there any place in the Three Realms that can really hold me captive? I simply don't want to go out. But is there something wrong with the Buddhist sect? Fool, tell us about it and we can have some fun together."
Listening to the monkey's words, Bajie just thought that the monkey was just trying to be brave and comfort him. How could anyone leave and still suffer in such a dark place? After all, Bajie could not understand the monkey's state of mind.
However, he didn't say much, and just started talking about what Tang Seng had told him.
"My master also told me about this. He said that Lingshan has been occupied by the Demon Ancestor. All the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Arhats on Lingshan were forced to pass away by the Demon Ancestor. Tathagata, Randang, and my master were not spared. My master was able to inform me in time because of his magical powers. He said that you are the only one who can save Buddhism, and asked me to find you to save Buddhism and the Three Realms."
What!
After hearing what Bajie said, the monkeys were somewhat unbelieving. That was Lingshan. In the past, the monkeys always thought that Heaven was the biggest. It was not until later that they realized how naive their ideas were. In front of the real big forces, even Heaven could not compare. The Three Pure Ones, the Three Veins, and Buddhism were the masters of the Three Realms.
He seemed to be quite powerful, but he was unable to climb over Tathagata's Five Finger Mountain. Such a powerful person was forced to death by the Demon Ancestor.
Who is this Demon Ancestor? How could he be so powerful? Moreover, how could such a big thing happen without any movement in the Three Realms?
“Buddha, is this true?”
As the monkey asked questions, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva slowly appeared, looked at the monkey and Bajie in front of him, and nodded slowly.
"All the Buddhas of Lingshan have passed away. Now only the four of you are left in Buddhism."
Four people!
“Except for you and the altar purifier, there are also the golden arhat and the eight heavenly dragons. It seems that you were all left here intentionally by the demon. And the reason why Bajie can appear here is probably because the demon allowed it. Otherwise, with the demon’s strength, Sandalwood Merit Buddha would never have been able to spread the news, and would never have allowed Bajie to appear here.
"Wukong, do you want to leave? If you leave here, you will probably fall into the devil's trap and your future will be uncertain."
Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva did not lie to the monkey, nor did he show any special emotion towards the passing of the Buddhas at Lingshan. It was as if he was just narrating an event, and he described the incident in a very calm tone.
However, just such a plain sentence ignited the monkey's fighting spirit.
After keeping the monkey locked up for so long, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva must have known the monkey too well.
The monkey knew that he was being noticed again. He knew that if he took a wrong step, he would face the abyss again. But for some reason, his heart could no longer be calm. Was it because of the appearance of the Demon Ancestor? Was it because he knew that the Demon Ancestor had noticed him and was still plotting against him? Or was it because a new challenge had appeared, and the monkey wanted to live for himself again!
As for Buddhism, the monkey shook his head. He was not trying to save Buddhism, but he hated Buddhism. But he hated this demon even more.
"Is that Demon Ancestor very powerful?"
It seemed like a very stupid question, but Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva shook his head.
"My Buddhist sect has sixteen Buddha bone relics, which represent the last heritage of Buddhism. As long as you can collect these sixteen Buddha bone relics, even though that demon is powerful, you will still be able to defeat him."
Then Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva told the monkey the location of the sixteen Buddha bone relics.
Seeing the monkey's eager look, Bajie hurriedly took a few steps forward.
"Brother Monkey, don't be confused. The Buddhas of Lingshan are no match for that demon. What if you go out? The Buddhas treated you like that. Do you really want to die for them?"
The monkey looked at Bajie and shook his head slowly.
"Idiot, this is not for Buddhism, it's for me, Old Sun."
Then the monkey looked at Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva again, "Why doesn't the Bodhisattva go by himself? With the Bodhisattva's strength, it should be easier for him to do it than me, Sun Wukong."
"Poor monk!"
Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva shook his head and suddenly looked up at the sky above Yinshan Mountain.
There, a black lotus was slowly descending, and boundless demonic energy covered the entire Yinshan Mountain. But it was only the entire Yinshan Mountain, which was only the territory of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, and it had almost no impact on other places in the underworld.
“Here it comes!”
The entire underworld naturally noticed such a big commotion. Even the evil ghosts in the Eighteen Levels of Hell calmed down after sensing this breath, as if they had sensed something more terrifying than the torture in the Eighteen Levels of Hell.
"Are we just going to watch?"
The ten Yama Kings gathered together, looking at the barrier formed by the evil energy and muttering.
"Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva is a threat to our underworld. We have never been able to deal with him before. Now someone is willing to do it for us and has expressed an attitude of not interfering with the underworld. Why should we care? This is a great calamity for Buddhism. The destiny of the world has changed before. We thought it was a great calamity that would affect the entire Three Realms. But since the changes in Lingshan.
The number of days has changed again, as if as long as we don't do anything extra, we can safely survive the catastrophe. If that's the case, why bother?"
Everyone nodded when they heard this.
Even though there are a few Yama Kings among the Ten Courts of Hell who are relatively close to Buddhism, they still know what to choose at the critical moment. After all, they are only close to Buddhism, but they are not willing to be dogs for Buddhism. What's more, the boss has already given the order, so they just have to wait and see.
Few people know that the underworld is not ruled by the Ten Kings of Hell. The ten of them are at best middle and high-level officials in the underworld. The high-level officials are still other people.
On the Yinshan Mountains.
Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva looked at Jiuyou who was slowly revealing his divine form, and his expression changed for the first time. Although Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva had already thought about how troublesome this time would be, after seeing Jiuyou, he knew that he might have really underestimated the fate of Buddhism this time, which was unfathomable. At this moment, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva seemed to understand why Tathagata and Dipankara were forced to pass away.
"Kinnara!"
"Jiuyou!"
The first part was said by Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, and the second part was said by Jiuyou who finally spoke. Looking at Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva in front of him, Jiuyou even thought that if Buddhism was presided over by this person, perhaps the current situation would not have occurred.
Why does disaster happen?
All results are caused by causes. It is better to say that the current Buddhist calamity is caused by Tathagata rather than the calamity after the rise of Buddhism. After all, Tathagata is not a native Buddhist disciple. Compared with becoming stronger, what Buddhism is like does not seem to be so important. He regards Buddhism as a tool. As long as he is strong enough, no matter what Buddhism becomes, it will become stronger step by step.
Thinking about it this way, there doesn't seem to be anything wrong. The greater the power, the less human feelings there are. It seems that pursuing interests is the most correct way.
Jiuyou!
Listening to Jiuyou's voice and looking at Jiuyou's gentle face, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, Monkey King and Bajie all fell silent.
Especially in the eyes of Monkey and Bajie, Jiuyou seemed to be different from what they imagined. If they were in another place, they might not associate Jiuyou with the devil.
What surprised Monkey was that he felt that Jiuyou had been looking at him since he appeared, and he even saw a hint of pity in Jiuyou's eyes.
Pity!
The monkey couldn't help but laugh. Jiuyou, who had forced all the Buddhas of Lingshan to nirvana, would actually behave like this? Shouldn't he be the kind of arrogant and overbearing person who would shout for war and killing right away?
"Nine Nether Demon Ancestor, are you here for this poor monk?"
Seeing the way Nine Nether Demon Ancestor looked at the monkey, Ksitigarbha also felt something was not right. Nine Nether's attitude not only surprised the monkey, but also him.
It has to be said that Jiale's move really caught the Buddhists off guard.
All the Buddhas in Lingshan have passed away. Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva had long anticipated that Jiuyou would never let him go. It was only a matter of time before he came to find him. Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva was even ready to deal with Jiuyou's attack at any time. But when he came, he didn't say anything, but seemed to make eye contact with the monkey. This was a bit wrong.
Thinking about how Jiuyou allowed Bajie to come find the Monkey King, Ksitigarbha felt more and more that something was wrong. Could it be that he really had a crush on the Monkey King?
"No, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva is just a side job. The main purpose is to see what attitude Sun Wukong would have towards Bajie's invitation."
Yeah! By the way!
Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva felt that he was offended. Is it really polite to speak like this?
"Jiuyou, you are a demon. You have disturbed the three realms for your own selfishness and are on the road to destruction. Now you still want to do these things. You are really arrogant."
Faced with Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's impolite words, Jiuyou turned around and looked at him.
"Wrong. To be precise, it is only your Buddhist sect that is being disturbed. I have not harmed any other forces in the Three Realms. Moreover, the Buddhist sect seems to be very unpopular among the people. Look, it has been so long, and the Buddhist sect has been in trouble for so long. There are also many forces in the Three Realms who know about the occurrence of the demonic calamity. Do you think anyone has taken action for the Buddhist sect?
Buddhism emphasizes the purity of the six senses. Humph, if this is what Buddha is, then he is probably not as good as us demons. At least we demons still have some humanity. We will not invite people back if they are useful, or throw them away if they are useless."
Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva finally changed his attitude after hearing this. He was sure that Jiuyou came here just for the monkey. If Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva couldn't see through such an obvious provocation, he would have been hanging around for so long in vain. The monkey had already been persuaded, so as long as Jiuyou used violent and domineering means to kill him, it would be a success.
But look at Jiuyou now, is he still the devil in their impression? What’s more, he is the Demon Ancestor. Shouldn’t he be the one who is the best in the world, who only cares about himself and who will fight and kill at the slightest disagreement?
As a result, a sheep dung ball popped out of the black pearl. No, a black pearl popped out of the sheep dung ball.
"Sheep dung egg, Buddhism embraces the three realms. How can a demon like you understand that?"
Sheep dung!
Jiuyou looked at Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva with a strange expression and said, "You are quite humorous, you sheep dung ball!"
Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva also realized that he had acted a little inappropriately, but giving others a name was very common in Buddhism and it was not a big deal. However, today's event had broken through the previous heights of Buddhism, as the name was given to the Demon Ancestor this time.
sheep!
Jiuyou suddenly had an idea, and a figure appeared in front of him.
"Bai Ze!"
Looking at this person who suddenly appeared, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva couldn't help but shout. He naturally knew Bai Ze, but why did Bai Ze appear here? Did the demon clan defect to the devil clan?
This is not a good thing.
But then Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva seemed to have thought of something. Could it be that Jiuyou brought Bai Ze out because he mentioned sheep dung?
The peak of Golden Immortal!
Bajie and Monkey King are both Golden Immortals, so they can naturally feel the pressure from Bai Ze. However, in comparison, only Monkey King and Bajie can feel Jiuyou's power. Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva and Bai Ze can at least make Monkey King see some limitations. However, from the time Jiuyou appeared until now, Monkey King has never regarded Jiuyou as a peak Golden Immortal.
He didn't look like a demon, but rather like an ordinary person, especially after the black lotus was put away.
"Your Majesty."
Bai Ze looked at Jiuyou with a complicated expression. After being taken back by the Peacock King and the Six-Eared Macaque, he met Jiuyou.
He thought it would be a matter of life and death, but Jiuyou was able to convince him with just a few words of emotion and reason. He swore that he was really willing to work for Jiuyou now.
Your Majesty!
Everyone was shocked!
As a peak Golden Immortal, is it appropriate for you to be so humble?
"Bai Ze, you are the demon saint of the demon race, how can you submit to the devil?"