sinovels Chapter 763: The Old Story of Buddha
Chapter 763: The Old Story of Buddha
Chapter 763: The Old Story of Buddha
When the old man shouted, Zhang Chengzu trembled all over and his calves became weak.
He was afraid in his heart, but he defended himself by saying, "I am not giving up my practice, but stealing the Dharma is wrong. I will take back the fox book, burn incense and confess my sins, and get the approval of the ancestor who wrote the book, then it can be considered as legitimate practice."
The old man raised his eyebrows and asked, "You want to become a disciple of the fox?"
"It's a fox fairy!"
"A fox fairy is not a fox anymore?"
"It's a fox, but can't I become a disciple of a fox?"
"You have the Fox Book in your hand. You can practice without becoming a disciple of a fox. How can a mere animal like you be accepted as my disciple?"
The old man walked over to Zhang Chengzu and said, "Sit down. I will help you enter the Dao. Why do you have to be content with being under the seat of a fox?"
Zhang Chengzu took a few steps back and said, "No need for the elder, I have already entered Taoism with the help of the fox book. That is why I want to become a disciple of the fox fairy."
The old man stared at Zhang Chengzu and said, "The fox demon doesn't want the fox book to be passed on. How can you become a Taoist?"
As he spoke, his eyes began to emit golden light. Inspired by this, Zhang Chengzu's meager magical power was stimulated and he had indeed achieved enlightenment!
The old man clearly looked down on the fox, but he suddenly burst into laughter and said, "Good! Good! Good!"
"You want to become a disciple of the fox. Good job, good job! That demon fox saved me a lot of trouble. If he wants to accept you as his disciple, just don't be afraid of regretting it!"
"follow me!"
The old man stretched out his hand and grabbed Zhang Chengzu.
Zhang Chengzu turned around and tried to escape, but he had no chance to escape from his grasp. He grabbed his collar and pulled him to his side, then dragged him out.
Zhang Chengzu slapped the old man's arm with all his strength, but it seemed as if he was hitting fine iron, and his own hand was hurt instead.
He turned around and looked at Master Shangyi, hoping that Master Shangyi could save his life.
Master Shangyi met his eyes, his face filled with sorrow and helplessness. He tried to stand up, but seven or eight bony hands appeared from the invisible void and locked his body, making him unable to move at all.
Only then did Zhang Chengzu realize that Master Shangyi was in danger himself and there was no way to save him.
The old man took Zhang Chengzu to the Nine Mirrors Tower.
Mirror Pagoda Temple is named after the pagoda. The Mirror Pagoda is octagonal and has nine levels. There are 480 Buddha sculptures inside and outside, all decorated with gold brocade, which is extremely solemn and magnificent.
The old man was chanting scriptures that Zhang Chengzu could not understand. All the monks and visitors he met on the road would walk out of Jingta Temple as if in a trance when they heard the scriptures.
"Who are you and what are you doing!" Zhang Chengzu struggled, his face turned red, but he didn't get away at all.
The huge Nine Mirrors Pagoda was already empty. The old man stood in the pagoda and said, "I was originally a monk of the Mirror Pagoda Temple. My Dharma name was Xinjue. At that time, the Mirror Pagoda Temple was still called the Futu Temple."
He let Zhang Chengzu go, and Zhang Chengzu turned around and ran away.
Xinjue said: "Aren't you curious, why you can't get close to anyone, why you can't learn anything, why you encounter these strange things."
Zhang Chengzu had already walked to the edge of the tower gate, but he paused for a moment and rushed out without hesitation.
But no matter how fast he rushed out, he was not as fast as he flew back.
Xinjue just stretched out his hand and made a useless grab, and Zhang Chengzu flew backwards and fell in front of him, his whole body in pain.
"Let you go?"
Zhang Chengzu cursed: "You lunatic, what on earth do you want to do!"
Xinjue snorted coldly and said, "I won't hurt you. On the contrary, I'm here to help you."
"follow me!"
Of course Zhang Chengzu didn't want to follow, but when Xinjue looked at him with a sneer, he knew that this was not a discussion with him.
Helpless, Zhang Chengzu had to follow Xinjue to the top of the tower.
Buddha statues dressed in golden brocade stand majestically in the niches. The lights and sunlight blend with each other, casting shadows of varying depths on the constantly rotating stone stairs.
Xinjue said slowly: "Do you know the origin of the temple of Jingta?"
Zhang Chengzu didn't want to talk to him, so he didn't answer.
And Xin Jue didn't need him to answer, so he continued, "Speaking of which, it happened more than four hundred years ago."
"The previous dynasty was destroyed, and the new dynasty had not yet been established. Xia Pi City was occupied by King Māra. Have you heard of the story of King Māra?"
Zhang Chengzu had heard of it vaguely, but when asked about the specific story, he couldn't tell it, but the name of King Mara always seemed familiar to him.
Xinjue walked forward, but observed Zhang Chengzu's expression with a pair of invisible eyes. Seeing that he seemed to be touched but not greatly touched, his brows frowned slightly.
"Don't you feel familiar?"
Zhang Chengzu did not answer.
Xinjue did not press the issue any further, but said, "It seems that your generation has not remembered King Mara very much. In the past, King Mara occupied Xiapi, recruited troops and horses, and dominated the area. He was not only a powerful ruler, but also a Buddha King. All the temples, Buddha statues, and Buddhist halls that you can see today were left behind by King Mara back then."
"The Futu Temple is no exception."
Xinjue looked back at Zhang Chengzu and said, "But after the Xin Dynasty, King Mara was unable to stop the army and was eventually defeated in Xiapi. He was torn into pieces by five horses and suppressed under the Futu Temple."
"The Buddha Temple he built with his own hands buried his own bones, and the Nine Mirrors Tower he built with his own hands became a magical tool to suppress his resentment."
"The Futu Temple was renamed the Jingta Temple after that, but the resentment of King Mara could never be eliminated. Instead, it became more and more intense, and the devil land evolved under the Jingta Temple, almost turning the entire Xiapi into a ghost town."
As they were talking, Xin Jue had already brought Zhang Chengzu to the top of the Nine Mirrors Tower.
On the top of the tower stands a golden Buddha statue, made of gold, covered in brocade, tall and mighty.
The Buddha statue has its eyes closed, its hands in the lotus seal, and sits cross-legged on a lotus throne. Zhang Chengzu has never seen a Buddha statue like this before. Most Buddha statues have their eyes half-opened, showing a compassionate look. This Buddha statue, however, seemed not to be able to open its eyes when it was cast.
Xinjue didn't move. He watched Zhang Chengzu seem to be attracted by the Buddha statue. He walked in front of the statue unknowingly and smiled.
"Zhang Chengzu, do you know who this Buddha statue belongs to?"
Zhang Chengzu said slowly: "It's King Mara."
"Yes, this is the Mara King." Xinjue looked up at the Buddha statue and said, "People regard him as a demon and are afraid of him, but they also worship him as a Buddha and pray for his forgiveness and mercy."
"King Mara is actually the Buddha King. His mind is extremely firm, his faith cannot be shaken, and death cannot make him surrender. People made him into a golden statue and called him Buddha, but this not only failed to appease his resentment, but made him even angrier."
"So, at the cost of 108 Buddhist monks, they finally led the soul of King Mara into reincarnation. In every life, every world, they kept trying to convert him."
"They were afraid that Buddhism would awaken him, so they introduced him to Taoism. His resentment was like a ulcer on his tarsal bones, and he was destined to die young in every life. He went through thirteen lives over four hundred years, and in every life he had the fate to enter Taoism, but he was not destined to achieve enlightenment. Every life ended in mediocrity."
"And I don't know how many lifetimes this cycle will take before his evil thoughts can be calmed and he can be completely freed."
Zhang Chengzu was already sweating just from listening, and asked, "What do you mean?"
Xinjue's voice was cold and hard, and he said, "I just can't wait any longer. I have waited for more than four hundred years, and spent my entire life on atonement, but I can't see the end at all."
"You can't see the end. You'll never see the end. Don't you understand, Lord Mara?"
Good luck on the college entrance examination! If there are any candidates...