Chapter 95: Crossing the Boundaries of Buddhas and Demons
There is a welcoming monk responsible for receiving guests at the mountain gate.
The Great Hall of Light was built according to the shape of Jiuyue Mountain. Qiao Wan and Cen Qingyou jumped up a hill and stood on top, where they could see clearly the activity at the mountain gate.
The welcoming monks stood in front of the mountain gate, arranged in order by their seniority. They respectfully greeted the elders and disciples of various sects who had come to the Great Hall of Light.
The participants of the conference included Chongde Ancient Garden, Sun Tao College, and Qingyang Academy from the Confucian school; Chaotian Mountain, Zhanyun Peak, and Taixuan Temple from the Taoist school; Fanxin Temple and the Great Hall of Light from the Zen school. The Xiao family was also invited as judges, along with many other small sects and independent cultivators.
With the resounding sound of the bell, the meeting began!
As Qiao Wan silently stood there, she couldn't help but voice over in her mind: "First, marching towards us is the team from Zhanyun Peak of the Taoist school! They are wearing blue and white disciple robes, full of energy and high morale..."
The disciples of Zhanyun Peak, riding on beams of light, gracefully descended from the clouds. Each one of them looked handsome and had a gentle demeanor, perfectly embodying the qualities of the Daoist philosophy of "peaceful inaction".
"Zhanyun Peak has always stayed out of the conflicts between the three schools," explained Cen Qingyou. "We can be considered neutral in this debate."
Following Cen Qingyou's gaze, Qiao Wan looked down. The disciples of Zhanyun Peak and the visiting monks exchanged greetings and were happily led by several senior monks to the Heart Hall of Light, where the meeting would take place.
In the distance, a golden lotus followed the beams of light and descended gracefully. From underneath the lotus emerged a group of monks dressed in robes.
Cen Qingyou continued his explanation, saying, "This is Fanxin Temple."
Qiao Wan remained expressionless but internally cheered: "Coming towards us next are the talented athletes from Fanxin Temple! Look how shiny their bald heads are!"
The disciples of Fanxin Temple stopped in front of the entrance gate and exchanged a few customary greetings.
During their conversation, sparks flew. Cen Qingyou carefully chose his words and tactfully expressed, "Fanxin Temple has some dissatisfaction with the position of the Great Hall of Light within the Zen community."
Qiao Wan suddenly understood.
As rivals, the Great Hall of Light has always held a higher position in the Zen community than Fanxin Temple. The monks of Fanxin Temple feel resentful and are constantly trying to surpass the Great Hall of Light.
The disciples of Fanxin Temple appear polite and respectful on the surface, but secretly look for faults. The disciples of the Great Hall of Light smile subtly and skillfully counterattack from time to time.
The disciples of Fanxin Temple are annoyed and itchy, but they maintain a transcendent demeanor and chant "Amitabha Buddha" with folded palms.
In this round, the Great Hall of Light emerges victorious!
Fanxin Temple seems to be a target that needs to be cautious.
As Qiao Wan watches, she silently takes notes in her heart.
Next, Taixuan Temple and Sun Tao College approach side by side. One in black, the other in white, they gracefully walk forward and bow to the monks who were aware of their presence.
From a distance, it seemed like Sun Tao College had said something to the visiting monks, and suddenly, there was a tense atmosphere. Shortly after, the disciples of Sun Tao College turned and left.
When Cen Qingyou saw the white-robed disciples of Sun Tao College, his expression subtly changed.
"These are the disciples of Sun Tao College and Taixuan Temple," the young boy whispered. "Sun Tao College has some conflict with the Great Hall of Light because of me."
"Because of you?"
Cen Qingyou looked up, his face slowly growing pale as if he remembered something.
Qiao Wan was surprised. She had never seen Cen Qingyou looking so lost and distraught before, not even when the Cen family was trapped.
As the mountain wind blew, making the Buddhist beads on Cen Qingyou's wrist clash, he fell silent. He nodded slightly at Qiao Wan and slowly walked down the hill.
Qiao Wan didn't pay attention to Chaotian Mountain, Chongde Ancient Garden, and Qingyang Academy that came after. She followed Cen Qingyou down the hill, taking a different path towards the Heart Hall of Light.
The meeting took place inside the Heart Hall of Light. It was led by Zen Master Kongding and a few other senior monks. When Qiao Wan and Cen Qingyou arrived, there were already many monks gathered in the main hall.
Although Cen Qingyou was a direct disciple of Venerable One Miaofa, he didn't have a formal title, so he stood behind Qiao Wan.
After a short while, Zen Master Kongding and several other senior Zen Masters entered the hall. They took their seats along with the elders from different sects.
Always appearing with droopy eyelids as if he hadn't slept, Zen Master Kongding was in the Great Hall of Light.
Qiao Wan and Cen Qingyou stood among the crowd, focusing on their breathing and thoughts.
The conversations of the people were quite formal. They started with a few pleasantries and exchanged compliments.
Not only in the Confucian, Buddhist, and Taoist camps, but also within each camp, the disciples and followers all had their own ambitions. They each believed that their sect should be the leader in the three religions.
In the world of different religions, there have been conflicts and grudges for a long time. Despite the polite appearances, there were hidden tensions and things were not as calm as they seemed.
As for now, everyone was still being polite and friendly, but it was only a matter of time before things erupted!
Just as they sat down and started to have tea, the elder Lu Dechang from Sun Tao College seemed concerned and asked, "Why haven't we seen Venerable One Miaofa?"
Lu Dechang, the elder of Sun Tao College, had been injured years ago and had become paralyzed in the face. His expression was stiff and pale, and he was known as "Lu Coffin."
Upon hearing this, the monks in the Heart Hall of Light, along with Qiao Wan and Cen Qingyou, felt a chill in their hearts.
The newcomer was not friendly!
The fact that Miaofa had been plagued by inner demons and almost lost control was not only a secret acknowledged by the people in the Great Hall of Light, but it had also spread rumors among the world of cultivation.
In various schools like Fanxin Temple, Sun Tao College, and Taixuan Temple, they spent all day trying to force Miaofa to come out. But Miaofa didn't come out, and the Great Hall of Light insisted that Venerable One was only in seclusion for cultivation. What can you do to me?
As soon as this man from Sun Tao College, Lu Dechang, arrived, he went straight for Venerable One Miaofa. His intentions were malicious!
Zen Master Kongding, obviously no stranger to dealing with such situations, remained calm and spoke calmly: "Thank you for your concern, Lu, but Venerable One is currently in seclusion and it is not convenient for him to meet guests. Please forgive any rudeness and I hope all immortal friends can understand."
Hmph! Lu Dechang snorted coldly.
Here we go again with the same old words! Who do you think you're fooling?
The man's eyes flickered, and suddenly an image of a young man running towards him with great excitement flashed before his eyes, panting heavily.
A few days ago, he had heard reports from Zhou Jiashu and a few disciples, saying that there was an evil being kept in the Great Hall of Light.
An evil being! Alright then!
Lu Dechang lifted his gaze.
Today, he insisted on forcing Miaofa to come out and meet people! He wanted to seek revenge for what happened at Sun Tao College.
Although he coldly snorted, Lu Dechang then showed a sudden expression and asked with concern, "Venerable One, it has been several years since this gate at Taixuan Temple closed. People who cultivate the Tao are most afraid of inner demons. Since Venerable One refuses to come out and meet people, could you please convey a message to Venerable One through Zen Master? Please tell Venerable One to be careful during the secluded cultivation process, and to avoid...falling into the abyss of inner demons!"
Elder Gong from Taixuan Temple also stepped forward, stroked his beard, and smiled, "Speaking of inner demons, I advise Venerable One that if there are no major matters, it would be wise to come out of seclusion. Nowadays, the whole cultivation world is spreading rumors that Venerable One is plagued by inner demons. People's words can be fear-inspiring. One rumor leads to ten, and ten rumors lead to a hundred. Who knows, one day it might become true."
The monk from Fanxin Temple didn't forget to add, "If Venerable One Miaofa can come out during this Three Teachings Law Meeting and stand in front of everyone, then these rumors will naturally be debunked."
In the blink of an eye, something unexpected happened inside the Heart Hall of Light.
Sun Tao College took the lead, with Taixuan Temple following closely behind.
Fanxin Temple added fuel to the fire.
This time at the Three Teachings Law Meeting, it was clear that the three factions had come prepared!
One wanted revenge, another wanted to bring down the Great Hall of Light and take its place.
They were all hinting at Miaofa, trying to force it out, both directly and indirectly!
The highly respected Venerable One from the Great Hall of Light was in a dangerous position, almost being consumed by their inner demons. It would be quite embarrassing if this got out!
Chongde Ancient Garden didn't want to get involved and chose to observe from a safe distance, while Zhanyun Peak maintained its graceful and polite demeanor, seemingly unaffected by the chaos.
Inside the Heart Hall of Light, the monks were getting restless.
Qiao Wan stood in the crowd and noticed Cen Qingyou suddenly tense up. She could faintly hear snippets of hushed discussions coming from behind.
"What is Sun Tao College still trying to achieve at a time like this? They just won't leave us alone!"
"That's just how people are, after all, the head of Sun Tao College... sigh, it's not entirely their fault that the Great Hall of Light had to apologize to Sun Tao College. They didn't let us off easily, but we can't entirely blame them either. In my opinion, Venerable One shouldn't have taken Martial Brother Cen as his disciple in the first place!"
"Even if they took Martial Brother Cen as a disciple, they shouldn't have made such a big fuss and let the whole world know."
A grudge.
Qiao Wan slowly tightened her grip on the sword.
It seems that when she was possessed by evil, it was not a coincidence that Sun Tao College came looking for trouble.
The question is, what is the grudge between Cen Qingyou and Sun Tao College? And what has happened to the head of Sun Tao College?
"Elder Gong and Elder Lu make valid points," Fanxin Temple lowered his eyes, "These past few days, there have been rumors about Venerable One Miaofa being plagued by inner demons, causing a great uproar, even..."
"Even what?"
Even the monks at Fanxin Temple hesitated, their clasped hands showing a doubtful expression. There were even rumors that the Great Hall of Light secretly kept a demon within its gates!
As soon as these words were spoken, the representatives from the other sects, including Taixuan Temple and Chongde Ancient Garden, all had a change in their facial expressions.
The monks from the Heart Hall of Light felt a surge of excitement!
A demon!
Qiao Wan was it referring to her?!
Qiao Wan felt a pang in her heart and fixed her gaze on the dramatic scene inside the hall.
In a strange tone, a representative from Taixuan Temple said, "Venerable One Miaofa is highly respected. How could they possibly keep a demon? This rumor must not be spread without evidence."
The representative from Fanxin Temple sighed in a contrived manner and said, "It is not my place to say such things. Perhaps it is because Venerable One Miaofa has been absent for a long time, that these rumors have started circulating. We must not speak loosely in the Buddhist community. Today, I speak these words with the well-being of all the friends of the Great Hall of Light in mind."
Lu Dechang exclaimed, "A few days ago, one of my disciples came to me and claimed to have seen a dark figure in the Great Hall of Light... Now the rumors have spread to this extent. I hope all the Buddhist friends will take note of it."
Zen Master Kongding joined his palms together and said, "Thank you, my immortal friends, for your concerns regarding the Great Hall of Light."
"However, if we examine the rumors closely, they are not entirely baseless," Lu Dechang suddenly chuckled and continued, "I almost forgot, isn't there a ready-made demon right here in the Heart Hall of Light?!"
At that moment, he separated from the crowd and descended straight towards where Qiao Wan was!
A ready-made demon!
Being the only demon present, Qiao Wan tightly pursed her lips, her heart pounding.
Has her true identity been exposed?!
This performance clearly seemed to target Venerable One Miaofa. She couldn't let Venerable One Miaofa and the Great Hall of Light be implicated.
Now the question was... should she run away or stay and face it head-on!
She considered the situation and assessed that Sun Tao College had no evidence against her, so she would stick it out.
To Qiao Wan's surprise, Lu Dechang's gaze did not fall on her, but on the person next to her, Cen Qingyou!
Lu Dechang said, "Zen Master? Why don't you call Cen Qingyou?"
In the hall, there was a sudden silence. The only sound that could be heard was the clinking of the Buddhist beads.
Qiao Wan stared at Cen Qingyou, who remained silent and slowly walked forward. In that moment, her entire worldview was shattered, and she stood there, stunned.
When did Cen Qingyou become so mysterious?
The young boy walked through the crowd, silently entering the hall. He stood tall, wearing a flowing white robe, and his figure exuded a sense of loneliness, as if he had been abandoned by the world.
In front of everyone's gaze, Cen Qingyou made his way to the center of the hall and respectfully bowed to Zen Master Kongding.
Qiao Wan felt a little overwhelmed by the sudden turn of events. When she looked towards the center of the hall, she couldn't help but notice that Cen Qingyou, who had always been gentle and easy-going, seemed to have changed. Not only did he lose his usual expression, but he also appeared somewhat insecure.
"Hello, Zen Master."
When Cen Qingyou approached, Lu Dechang gave him a cold look. He forced a smile, even though it looked stiff.
"Cen Qingyou, it's been a long time."
Cen Qingyou bowed, saying, "Elder Lu."
Qiao Wan tensed her muscles and kept her eyes fixed on what was ahead.
The smile on the face of Taixuan Temple faded. "I remember when Venerable One decided to take you as a disciple and help you overcome the demonic energy. It seems that your cultivation has improved since then. Venerable One is indeed an excellent teacher. I wonder, how much of the demonic energy has been eradicated in comparison to your cultivation?"
Lu Dechang looked at Zen Master Kongding and said, "Cen Qingyou is a disciple of the Venerable One and the Venerable One is currently in seclusion practicing. I don't know if Zen Master would be willing to let his disciple come and stay at our Sun Tao College for a few days. It just so happens that I have some things to discuss with him at Sun Tao College."
Staying at Sun Tao College for a few days? Will Cen Qingyou even come back alive?
The monks in the Heart Hall of Light were angry and resentful!
Zen Master Kongding remained silent.
Looking around the hall, Lu Dechang raised his eyes and asked Zen Master Kongding, "Is it that you don't want to let him go? Perhaps you're afraid that once he's out of the Heart Hall of Light, you won't be able to control his dark side!"
"Cen Qingyou is intelligent and has received personal guidance from the Venerable One. Since he became a disciple of the Venerable One, he has been devoted to practicing Buddhism." Zen Master Kongding's disciple, Kongren, who had reached his limit, stepped forward angrily and said, "What do you mean by that? Are you questioning my abilities in the Great Hall of Light?!"
The Zen Master, who has the ability to control his anger, advised against holding onto feelings of resentment. The Zen Master at Fanxin Temple said, "I don't think Elder Lu meant any harm either."
The monks at the Great Hall of Light clenched their teeth in frustration. Sun Tao College, Fanxin Temple, and Taixuan Temple joined forces, pressing forward step by step, and not allowing them to get angry?!
A strange smile appeared on the face of the monk at Taixuan Temple. He said, "I recently obtained a fascinating object. How about showing it to all of you for your appraisal?"
In front of everyone at the Great Hall of Light, a man reached into his sleeve and took out a small iron plate the size of a palm and threw it into the air.
He shouted, "Go!"
The small iron plate fell to the ground and turned into a large iron plate several yards long and wide, being dragged by a three-eyed demon beast covered in wounds, blood flowing and pus oozing out.
The iron plate was full of iron nails.
As everyone looked at Taixuan Temple, he smiled slightly and pointed to a piece of iron plate, saying, "This iron plate is called the Path of Righteousness. If you have good intentions and righteousness in your heart, you can walk on it unharmed. But if you have evil thoughts and any trace of dark energy, you will suffer the pain of being pierced by the iron nails."
"These days, there have been rumors that Venerable One Miaofa willingly turned to darkness and associated with the Great Hall of Light. Since Cen Qingyou is considered a disciple of Venerable One Miaofa, who personally guided him, why not let him try? If he can walk on it unharmed, then those rumors will naturally be proven false."
The iron plate was covered in closely spaced iron nails, with blood stains and a chilling aura. No one knew how much blood was shed by the previous person who stepped on it.
Should Cen Qingyou step on it?!
Suddenly, Kōng Rěnhuō looked up in surprise!
Taixuan Temple, Sun Tao College, and Fanxin Temple were engaged in a heated argument. They were throwing good and bad words at each other, discussing the pros and cons. In just a few words, they had built up the Great Hall of Light as a towering structure, causing confusion and difficulties. Chongde Ancient Garden, Chaotian Mountain, and Zhanyun Peak watched the drama unfold with great interest.
He didn't completely understand what these three factions were plotting.
Within the entire Buddhist community, the Great Hall of Light and Fanxin Temple were the most at odds with each other.
One reason was that Fanxin Temple resented being overshadowed by the Great Hall of Light. Another important reason was that their ideologies were different.
The Great Hall of Light believed that as long as one held good intentions and followed the right path, it didn't matter if they were demons or monsters, they could be guided and transformed.
On the other hand, Fanxin Temple had a more dominant approach. Their ideology was to eliminate all demons.
Thus, from the very beginning until now, these three factions relentlessly attacked each other based on the concept of "demon."
They wanted to prove the innocence of the Great Hall of Light and that its ideology was correct.
This was a tough situation...
In the Heart Hall of Light, it was so quiet that even if Cen Qingyou didn't want to step on it, he had to step on it!
The monks who usually got along well with Cen Qingyou couldn't sit still.
Kongren spoke loudly, "Since when do the disciples of the Great Hall of Light need your sect's scrutiny?!"
"We've already said not to disturb the angry mind," Lu Dechang said calmly, "This is just to give an explanation to the entire Buddhist world. Venerable One is troubled by evil spirits, and rumors are pointing directly to your sect colluding with demons. Is Zen Master so excited because he is unwilling or afraid, feeling guilty?"
"You talk so boldly," a young monk behind Qiao Wan clenched his teeth, "but isn't it just to take revenge on Sun Tao College!"
"One wants to seek revenge on their college, the other wants to overthrow the Great Hall of Light and become the leader of the Buddhist tradition."
Qiao Wan finally couldn't hold back and interrupted the young monk behind her, asking coldly, "Revenge? What revenge?"
The little monk looked up and saw a handsome young man. He was surprised at first, but then he remembered that the young man had just been with Elder Martial Brother. Besides, the information wasn't really a secret. He whispered, "Elder Martial Brother, Elder Martial Brother is actually the physical container of Blue-eyed Evil Buddha."
Blue-eyed Evil Buddha…
Qiao Wan's heart skipped a beat. She said, "Explain clearly."
The little monk lowered his voice and explained everything in just a few words.
"Surely you have heard of Blue-eyed Evil Buddha, my immortal friend."
Qiao Wan was very familiar with the Blue-eyed Evil Buddha who had injured Elder Martial Brother before.
In the entire cultivation world, no one knew where Blue-eyed Evil Buddha came from. They only knew that although he was a disciple of the Buddhist sect, he did all sorts of evil deeds. His favorite thing to do was to kill people's entire families. Later, it was said that he was surrounded and killed by people in the Black Wind Path, and his body disappeared without a trace.
But before the Blue-eyed Evil Buddha died, he left something behind. He chose a person, Cen Qingyou, and attached a remnant soul to him. This remnant soul merged with Cen Qingyou's spirit, creating a new person.
Cen Qingyou became the chosen vessel because the Blue-eyed Evil Buddha once killed the head of Sun Tao College, and the blame fell on Cen Qingyou.
Before Qiao Wan could recover from her shock, Lu Dechang turned to Cen Qingyou and squinted his eyes. "When Venerable One Miaofa decided to take you as his disciple, the master was questioned by everyone. As his disciple, don't you want to clear his name? Or is your nature inherently selfish?"
As the three sides argued, Cen Qingyou, who was caught in the middle, stood silently for a moment. Suddenly, he bowed and took off his shoes.
