Gu Qingfeng lounged leisurely in his chair, waving a hand dismissively. "Don't count on me. I have neither ideas nor solutions. You'll have to figure it out yourself."
"Kid Gu, search your conscience and tell me, how many times has This Old Monk helped you? Even if you refuse to acknowledge those matters, calling them 'convenient favors,' a convenient favor is still a favor, isn't it? Is it not a fact that This Old Monk has helped you? When I helped you, I never asked you to repay the favor. Taking a step back, even if This Old Monk never helped you, aren't we friends at least? We've known each other for so long, and This Old Monk has never asked you for a single favor. Now that I'm finally asking for your help this one time, not only do you refuse, but you actually want to watch This Old Monk make a fool of himself!"
Da Xing the Mad Monk sat there dejectedly, head bowed as he drank his wine, seeming utterly disheartened—at least, that was how it appeared.
"Well, well, when did you learn to play the pity card?" Gu Qingfeng chuckled. "This isn't like your usual style at all."
Faced with Gu Qingfeng's mockery, Da Xing paid him no mind, clearly not in the mood to engage.
"Da Xing, it's not that I won't help you think of a plan. If even you have no solution, what could I possibly do?" Gu Qingfeng didn't know what medicine Da Xing was selling in his gourd, nor did he care to figure it out. "You know me—I'm a rough man, not one for convoluted schemes. When I run into trouble, I basically resort to force whenever possible. How about this: we just charge over there and fight?"
"You really are the type who loves watching a spectacle without worrying about the mess! This Old Monk already told you, our Chan Sect is chaotic enough as it is. This matter requires wisdom, not force. Once violence starts, it'll only make things worse. Besides..." Da Xing angrily gulped down more fine wine, shooting Gu Qingfeng a disdainful glare. "Do you think it's that easy to just 'kill over'? My junior sister is currently guarding the teleportation array leading to the Little Zen Secret Realm. To get to the secret realm, you have to get past her first."
"What's this? From the sound of it, you're saying the two of us together can't even handle your junior sister?"
"To be honest, if my junior sister gets serious, whether the two of us can take her down, This Old Monk doesn't know. But one thing is certain: if she stakes her life defending that teleportation array, This Old Monk won't have the slightest chance."
"Really? Is your junior sister that formidable?" Gu Qingfeng hadn't observed Da Xing's junior sister closely earlier and had little impression of her. "The name 'Shuiyue Shitai' sounds somewhat familiar. Feels like I've heard it somewhere."
"Shuiyue Shitai is just my junior sister's secular name. Her Dao title is Bodhisattva Shuiyue."
"Bodhisattva Shuiyue?" Hearing this name, Gu Qingfeng's heart couldn't help but jolt.
Although he wasn't a Buddhist cultivator, he knew the weight the title 'Bodhisattva' carried within the Western Heaven's Buddhist Path.
The Western Heaven was one of the Nine Heavens, also the legendary pure land of Buddhism, reputed to be filled with Buddhas.
However.
It was only filled with Buddhas. Most of these Buddhas were merely Buddhist cultivators, far from being true Great Buddhas in the ultimate sense.
To achieve true Great Buddhahood, one must first attain the Arhat fruit and become an Arhat.
Those who achieve Arhatship possess indestructible golden bodies. While not truly deathless or imperishable, they are nearly so. Ordinary supernatural powers can hardly shake their golden forms. One could say the existence of an Arhat is immensely powerful.
Within the Western Heaven's Buddhist gate, perhaps Buddhas fill the skies, but golden-bodied Arhats are absolutely few.
And only after attaining the Arhat fruit can one seek Bodhi. Only by attaining Bodhi can one achieve Bodhisattvahood.
Those who achieve Bodhisattvahood can be said to possess boundless Buddhist Dharma. Every gesture, every movement, is a profound transformation of vast Buddhist power. Even a single thought from them could plunge you into an abyss.
Exaggeration?
Not in the slightest.
Back in the Ancient Era, Gu Qingfeng had once crossed hands with a Bodhisattva from the Western Heaven's Buddhist gate. To this day, he clearly remembered: that Bodhisattva merely plucked a single petal, and then...
There was no 'and then.' Gu Qingfeng was trapped within that petal-world for a long, long time. And what remained most vividly in his memory was that the Bodhisattva chanted some unknown mantra, tormenting Gu Qingfeng to the brink of death, making him wish for oblivion.
Moreover, Buddhist Dharma was truly the bane of all things evil.
Not an ounce of falsehood there.
Because Gu Qingfeng back then was steeped in evil fortunes. He had experienced the taste of being suppressed by Buddhist Dharma and understood all too well how terrifying the innate sacredness within Buddhist power was.
It was precisely for this reason that back in the Ancient Era, when roaming the Great Desolate, running into Western Heaven Buddhas always gave him a headache.
Of course.
That was only back then.
So many years had passed. Gu Qingfeng was no longer the Gu Tianlang of old, brimming with evil fortunes.
With increased experience, ever more extraordinary insights, and an ever-evolving comprehension of the Great Dao, Gu Qingfeng no longer feared any Buddhist Dharma. Not only did he not fear it, but as his understanding of the Buddhist teachings imparted by the Great Master deepened over the years, and after realizing that 'Buddha is the Dao,' he felt he was almost becoming a Buddha himself.
"Impressive, truly impressive." Gu Qingfeng sighed. He knew that since Shuiyue Shitai was Da Xing's junior sister, her existence must be extraordinary. He just never expected her to be, of all things, a Bodhisattva.
The existence of a Bodhisattva was exceedingly rare. In all his years roaming the Great Desolate, Gu Qingfeng could count on one hand the few he had encountered. Never did he think he'd run into one today. He asked, "Is your junior sister considered a Bodhisattva who has awakened and returned?"
"More or less. My junior sister hasn't shown her face since leaving the Chan Sect back in the Primordial Era. She's only emerged this time because our Chan Sect's relic is about to manifest." Da Xing explained, "My junior sister has an affinity with Buddhism. Moreover, she is free from the four elements and pure in the six senses, wholly devoted to Buddhist cultivation. Having been in secluded meditation for so many years, even I don't know what her current cultivation level is. The most terrifying thing is that Buddhist whisk in her hand. Do you know what treasure that is?"
"What is it?"
"The Great Purity, Great Serenity, Empty Gate Whisk." As he spoke, Da Xing pulled out the Great Compassion, Great Mercy, Life and Death Fan from his waist and waved it. "Just like This Old Monk's broken fan here, both are magical instruments forged by the Lamp-Lighting Buddha. This Old Monk's broken fan can determine life and death with a single wave, while my junior sister's whisk can determine serenity with a single flick. One sweep from her, and no matter how many evil thoughts fill your heart, they'll instantly turn to dust."
Taking a sip of wine, Da Xing continued, "Let me put it this way: if your will is not firm and your Dao-heart not steady, one flick from her, and all the chaotic thoughts in your mind will scatter. Your consciousness sea will become empty and uniform, almost equivalent to being free from the four elements, pure in the six senses, without desire or want. You'll immediately enter the empty gate and join our Buddhist Path. Tell me, isn't that terrifying?"
"Especially for a fellow like you, brimming with evil thoughts—that thing is your natural nemesis. Unless your will is sufficiently resolute and your Dao-heart sufficiently stable to support that brain full of wicked ideas, otherwise, after one flick from my junior sister, even if you don't enter the empty gate, you'll definitely stand there dazed like a fool. Your self-awareness won't return for quite some time."